What Colour Do You Bleed?
by sylverskyz
Summary: Evil doesn't come from one's actions, but one's state of mind. Within the walls of ShinRa HQ, evil drifts like a plague. One Turk may ignore what he sees, but in this company, evil catches up to you, one way or another.
1. Chapter 1

Despite my discouragement of failing with on-going fics that actually have a plot, I am giving it another shot. This idea has been floating around in my head for a while, and I'm going to try and work it into a story.

This is a fanfic in Reno's POV, and gets pretty dark in future chapters. This first chapter is pretty light, and very simple, because I have to get a bunch of things like characterizations, time (in the origonal FFVII) and all that good stuff out of the way. This does go along with the plot (sort of) with the game itself, but you wont see much of the events in this fic. This is about Reno, and the darker side of Shinra, with a few appearances from Avalanche. Thisstory may seem a little unrealistic, but hey, it's a fanfic, I'll do what I want XD

Oh, and if there'sany stories like this one out there, you have a million apologies from me, because I haven't seen one. It seems likea simple idea, I don't want to seem like I'm ripping someone off.

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Square-Enix

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Strife and I started circling each other like dogs for a good minute, eyes fixed on each other. We both were breathing heavily from the struggle that had just took place. His huge sword swung at me, and I had to duck to avoid getting sliced in two. I then took the opportunity to lunge, my Electro-Mag Rod sparking. It contacted with the side of his head and sent waves of harsh electricity through his body. The swordsman winced and stumbled backwards, cursing at me. I let a smirk wipe across my face.

"Aren't you having fun?" I asked him smugly, straightening up and waiting for him to stand. He use his sword to push himself up, growling at me. I expected another attack with his sword, but as a green glow floated about him, my defence plans were shattered. I tried to dodge the magic, but I suffered from an electric shock, similar to what I gave him. Once he ceased the attack, I slumped to me knees, having to hold myself up with my arms.

I heard Rude behind me call my name, but he soon suffered a hit upside the head from Wallace's metal gun-arm. My fellow Turk stumbled a bit, but managed not to fall. I forced myself to my feet and went after Cloud again, my weapon sparking wildly. I took a swing at him and our weapons connected. The edge of his blade was inches from my face, and I had to push hard to keep from loosing my nose. Despite the seriousness of the situation, I smirked and sent electricity into the metal sword, and my opponent dropped it to avoid further shock. I stepped back and looked over to see Rude fighting off Barret and the Ancient. He was outnumbered, and struggling to hold his ground. I realised that if we were to get out of this jungle in one piece, we had to leave now.

"I think that's enough." I announced after sending a lunging Strife back with a crack of my electro-mag rod. The struggle carrying on ceased and Rude looked at me as if to ask what the hell I was doing. I just smirked, stepping towards a well-worn path with my weapon over my shoulder. I had to keep a sense of pride about me, I was a Turk, after all. "C'mon Rude, Tseng is waiting." I shifted my eyes to the spiky haired blonde. He was glaring at me, sword ready.

"You coward." he breathed. I just kept my smug look.

"It may look like we are retreating, but we're still victorious." I told them before nodding at Rude. We jogged down the path as best we could with our injuries. The second we were out if sight of AVALANCHE, Rude turned to me.

"What the hell are you on?" he hissed as we slowed our pace. "Why did you do that?"

I raised a hand to silence him as I flicked my EMR off and attached it to my belt. "Face it, man, we were going to get schooled. I'd rather make it back to Midgar in one piece. Besides," I looked over at him. "It wasn't fair you had two of them attacking you at once." I flipped a loose bit of fiery red hair from my face.

"I was fine." Rude growled, taking off one black glove. With his bare hand, he checked the side of his head for blood. He looked at his now bloody hand and sighed.

"Uh huh, sure." I smiled a little, despite my own internally broken pride. "Next time, buddy, we'll give them hell."

Luckily for us, Tseng was always understanding under his professional, serious exterior. He let us off easy, knowing that we were outnumbered and pretty injured by the end of the battle. Even Elena was quiet, for once. Scarlett, however, was different. She started accusing us of being cowards, which Rude and I dismissed and ignored. She wasn't our boss, we didn't have to take hell from her. If my head wasn't throbbing in a painful headache, I would have found it amusing.

We trudged back into the office and sat down at our desks, both in foul moods. Not wanting to push my luck with Tseng, I immediately started working on the report. I scribbled away at the paper for a few minutes before pausing.

"Hey, Rude?" I looked across the room at my partner, who was also working on paperwork. He glanced up for a moment.

"Yeah?"

I leaned back at little in my chair. "What's a better way to phrase 'ran away like scared little girls'?" I asked, rewarded with the smile I had been aiming for.

"How about 'forced to retreat due to severe injury'?" he offered, bringing a hand to his face and lowering his sunglasses. "Or, maybe it's better to be honest." he added with a shrug. I snorted, and managed to resist laughing.

"Honesty? In this company? Maybe you got clocked on the head a bit too hard." I sighed, straightening up again. He looked at me with his sunglasses still lowered, bright blue eyes filled with amusement, but tinted with a bit of shame. I could tell his pride was hurt from retreating, as was mine, but we both knew our lives were more important than our egos.

As I scribbled Rude's suggested excuse for running from the fight down on the report, I wished I could just go have a nap. We had both taken a beating, and my headache was nearly killing me. I rubbed my throbbing temples for a moment before something small bounced off my forehead and landed on my paper in front of me. I looked down to see a pill laying there, and glanced over at Rude. His shades were back at the top of his nose, and another light smile had pulled at his lips.

"Advil. You looked like you were suffering." he told me before turning back to his work. I thanked him and dry swallowed the pill. After a couple of hours of scribbling away at paperwork, my headache had dulled down and my mood had lightened slightly. After finishing the report, I glanced up at the clock above the door. It read 7:48, much to my surprise. The time had passed rather quickly.

"Hey, Rude."

"Yeah?"

I stood up, stretching my stiff and sore muscles. "Let's go get a few drinks." I suggested, looking at him. He raised an eyebrow as he set down his pen.

"A few?"

I laughed lightly. "Hell no, not a few." I corrected myself. "Let's go get royally smashed. My treat."

As we locked up the office and walked toward the elevators, all the bad events of the day melted from my mind. Being a Turk was hard work, difficult, and at times emotionally draining. However, at that moment, as Rude and I walked out of the building and onto the streets, heading for the nearest bar, I knew I wouldn't change it for the world.

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I hope that wasn't too painful. Trust me, it will get more interesting. This chapter, I just had to highlight the relatonships Reno had with his co-workers, enemies, and some stuff about when the story takes place. In the future, it shall be better. However, Please review and tell me how I'm doing. All feeback is good! Thank you!


	2. Splatters on the wall

I promised that the story would get better as it went on, but to be honest, this one may seem a little dull. However, the plot does move this time, and the events do have a reason for happening. Thanks to all two people who reviewed XD Seriously, it means alot, thanks guys :D However, unless i keep getting feedback, I wont continue. I do this for the readers, and if nobody finds it worth reveiwing for, then I wont waste anyone's time. Anywhoo, I hope you like this so far, it's only starting to get interesting! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: All of thesecharacters belong to Square

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The intense and merciless blaring of my alarm clock snapped my from my peaceful sleep. As if someone had hit me in the head with a sledgehammer, a splitting headache started up. I let out a groan and rolled over, groping at the bedside table for the source of my awakening. When I found it, I slammed on the snooze button. I curled up in the sheets and buried my face further into the pillow. Sleep. I just wanted sleep. My momentary bit of peace was cut off by the alarm again a few minutes later, which ended up being thrown against the wall.

I sluggishly sat up and rubbed my head. I couldn't remember a thing about the night before, how had I gotten into my own apartment, and in one piece? The last thing I remembered was declaring a shots contest with Rude over who was going to pay the tab. Guessing by my hangover, it's safe to assume I lost. After stumbling into the bathroom and splashing water on my face, and changing into a clean, less wrinkled suit, I walked out into the living room area of my apartment. As I passed the couch, I stopped.

"Rude?" I looked over to see my friend fast asleep on my couch, curled up with his shades hanging loosely from one hand. I chuckled and nudged him awake with my EMR, which was switched off. "Wakey wakey, sunshine." I said in an overly cheerful voice, which was hell for my headache. Rude mumbled something inaudible and rolled over, so he was facing away from me. I prodded him a few times until he growled a death threat at me. I laughed lightly and prodded once more.

"Reno…" Rude said in monotone that revealed his foul mood and severe hangover. "Unless you want to loose a vital organ, I suggest you piss off." He sat up in the same manner I had, looking around as if he was lost. "What the hell am I doing here?"

I shrugged. "I was about to ask you that. I guess you dragged my drunk ass home than just crashed here." I said, straightening up. "C'mon, we should get going to work."

"Ugh, my head." Rude groaned as he stood up. "I don't remember a thing."

"The joys of hangovers, eh?" I mused, walking towards the door. "I think I need Advil in a pez dispenser."

After a nice walk through the crowded, smoggy streets of Midgar, we got to the Shinra HQ. As soon as we reached the office and settled into our chairs, Tseng appeared.

"Drinking again?" He asked with amusement in his voice when he saw Rude down some painkillers.

"Hey, I stumbled into work before ten." I pointed out with a smirk. "That's gotta count for something."

"A personal record, for you, Reno." Tseng mused lightly before handing a folder to Rude. "I want you two to get some information from this man. He's in the Pit right now, Elena brought him in half an hour ago." our boss explained, surprising me by using the name we affectionately called the Interrogation Rooms/Holding cells. "He is suspected to be the attempted assassin who attacked President Rufus. Get whatever you can out of him."

I watched Rude flip through the folder silently, then looked back up at the wutaiian man. "And after that?"

"Dispose of him." it may have been an aftermath effect of the mass amounts of alcohol I had consumed the night before, but I thought I saw a cold, subtle smirk pull at Tseng's lips. I watched him leave the room before I stood up.

"Well, shall we go deal with the idiot assassin?" I asked, checking the gun attached to my belt to make sure it was loaded. Rude nodded, and we both walked down to the Pit.

I swung the door open to the room and stepped in, my partner following behind me. We let the door shut and lock with a click. I looked at a man- clad in all black and dark grey- sitting in a small steel chair in front of a table. He stood out against the stark white walls and floor, and his face was filthy and unshaven. He looked at us with intense brown eyes that showed no fear, just pure hatred. I smirked lightly and walked over to the table, sitting down opposite from him. Rude stood beside me, in a professional, body-guard like stance, with his arms at his sides.

"James Naroll, I presume?" I said, flopping the folder down on the small table. The man gave a grunt in response, looking away. "I gotta give you credit, you almost pulled it off." I said leaning back in the uncomfortable chair. "Our dear president took that seriously, y'know. Little slums men shouldn't be firing off guns like that." I gave a smug smile. "Someone is bound to get hurt."

"You upper-plate Shinra bastards!" the man spat bitterly. "Can't take it when someone takes a stand, huh?"

"Oh, we can take it." I replied. "We just don't like being told how to do our job. We don't tell you how to pick through dumpsters and inbreed."

At that, the man stood up, shouting at me. I smirked again, having heard it all before, from the dozens of past anti-Shinra fools. Rude was on him before I knew he had moved from my side, and forced him to sit down harshly.

"Who are you working with?" my partner suddenly demanded, seemingly not in the mood for messing around. That was to my disappointment, I loved playing verbal cat and mouse with these people. The man spat on his shoe.

"Nobody. Anyone who can differentiate between their ass and their head can plot an assassination." He hissed, wincing slightly from the iron grip Rude had tightened over his shoulder.

"I guess that leaves you out, then." I retorted smugly, the same smirk still tugging at my lips. "Are you sure you don't want to talk this out like adults?"

"Go to hell."

I stood calmly, and Rude stepped away from the man, standing beside me again. "I'll meet you there." I said, drawing my gun. At the sound of my gun clicking, all the courage melted away from the slums man as he fell from his chair, pleading for his life. A strong-headed killer suddenly became a blubbering mess. I pointed my gun at him for a moment, a rare and surprising hesitation halting me when he mentioned a family. I shook that shred of conscience out of my head and pulled the trigger. A loud bang rang in my ears, almost echoing a few times in my mind. The man slumped to the floor, and blood started to pool around him. I turned away and holstered my gun.

"Let's get the cleanup crew in here." I said calmly. For some reason the dark splatters on the walls never got easier to see. I didn't mind gore, killing, or anything like that. However, seeing the splatter of blood on those pure white walls struck a deep chord within me. I started towards the door, and Rude followed after picking up the folder. We walked back to our office in silence, both acting as if the murder never happened.

It always seemed this way. Capture, interrogate, kill, forget. If the prey was lucky, it was just a plain go-out-and-kill mission. The man's mention of his family had made me pause, yet I didn't know why. Perhaps it was the hangover, I was still feeling a bit off from it. Not to mention the sound of the shouting and my gun had just been hell for my headache.

After filing a quick report, I went to Tseng's office to drop it off. I knocked on the door, and after hearing him call for me to enter, I did so. I walked to his desk and set the folder and report down. Tseng looked up at me.

"I assume you finished him off?" He asked in a professional, very serious tone. I nodded.

"Yep, he wasn't talking, so we took care of him. Cleanup is just taking the body out now." I said with a nod. Tseng seemed satisfied.

"Excellent. I have one more thing for you to do." He opened a drawer and pulled out yet another folder. He handed it to me. "Just take this down to the Lab, it's files for Hojo." I took the folder and nodded.

"Sure thing, boss." I turned and walked to the door, tucking the new folder under my arm.

"Reno, wait." Tseng's voice halted me, and I looked over my shoulder. He looked unsure, and maybe a little doubtful.

"Yeah?"

Tseng sighed and gestured his hand in a dismissive wave. "Never mind, go on." After a moment I left his office, a little confused by him suddenly changing his mind. I shrugged it off and headed down to the lab.

I pushed through the door and entered the large room, the light of computer monitors and concentrated lamps distorting my eyesight for a moment. I blinked several times as the surroundings of the Lab came into focus. I rarely got to see the lab, mainly because I had never bee sent there before or bothered to take a look. Everything I saw made me curious as to why it was there or what it did, and the whole place seemed sickeningly… clean.

I shook me head and walked further into the room. "Hey, Hojo." I called, hoping to get the scientist's attention and make him emerge from behind an experiment or something. As I walked, I tripped over my own feet- an antic of mine that happened constantly- and fell to the floor. The file hit the floor, and papers scattered from it. Cursing, I looked over, only to see a few dozen blank pieces of paper. Not even a Shinra Company logo in the corner. Just blank. I blinked a few times before a sharp pain struck my arm. I looked over to see a small metal dart stuck in my arm, just below my shoulder. Wincing, I pulled it out, but soon found that the room was moving a little. I looked around to see the room spinning around me, making me feel dizzier by the second. My whole body started to feel weighted down, like it was giving up one me. Before long, my eyelids got too heavy for me to fight, and I slowley slipped into unconsciousness.

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Yes,this chappiemay seem a little dry or just plain badly written, and I apologise. Out of three drafts written over one day, this was the best. Sad, I know.

Oh well, review anyways? Please, you have no idea how much the reviews motivate me! Starting next chapter, I'll personally thank each reviewer, much like I do with Rainy Day. Bare with me people, the story is just starting!


	3. Strange Awakening

Yes, I am back with yet another chapter. The wierd stuff is just starting! Thank all of your who reviewed, it means alot. I'll personally thank you all at the end of the chapter. Speaking of which, I really hope you like this chapter! I wrote it in an hour, but I actually like how it came out. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Square

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_Drip, drip, drip._

I came back into consciousness slowly, the foreign sound waking me. I couldn't open my eyes, their lids were still too heavy. My whole body ached, as if I had just had ran a marathon. I lay in oblivion for a moment before my mind came to me, hitting me like a bag of bricks. I internally asked a million questions. Where was I? Why had I passed out? Why was every inch of me sore? I snapped my eyes open once I brought myself around to do so, but soon had to shut them due to a blinding light above me. I lay there for a moment, noticing how cold and ungiving the surface I was on seemed. Eventually I dared my eyes open again, slowly, while turning my head away from the light. The world melted into sight, and I saw I was still in the lab.

Drip, drip, drip.

I looked around stupidly for a moment, trying to piece together what was going on. My limbs felt like they were filled with lead, and I had a headache that made my last one seem like nothing. I could feel and clearly hear my own pulse in my temples. I sat up after a moment, emitting a pained groan. I paused and looked down on the surface I had been asleep on.

A lab table?

I looked around me again, seeing I was alone in the lab. "…Hey" I called, finding my voice was just as weak as the rest of me felt. I waited for a response, but was rewarded with no such thing. I called out again, this time forcing out a higher volume that hurt my throat. Once again, no response. I slowly got off the lab table and looked at it, wondering how I had gotten up there. I stared for a moment, holding the side of my throbbing head and wishing I knew what the hell was happening to me. I turned, which made me feel a little dizzy, then took a few steps towards the door. My steps were shaky and unbalanced, and my feet felt heavy, like I was walking with cement shoes.

"Yo, anyone here?" I called out once more, but the only other sound was the same as it had been before.

Drip, drip, drip.

I stumbled over to the sink where the sound was coming from, and found it full of water. I splashed some on my face, trying to wake myself up. I stared into the water and clean steel sink in which it was held, barely able to see my reflection. I looked alright, then again, the reflection was very crude.

After a bit more calling, waiting, and thinking, I made my way to the door again. I stumbled like a drunk out of the lab and over to the nearest elevator. Once the lift came, I sluggishly walked into the small room and smashed my hand against the right button to my floor. Thankful, for being alone, I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes. I muttered curses and wishes for my migraine to fade, and wanted to just pass out right there.

When I heard the over-cheerful 'ding' that announced my arrival on the right floor, I straightened up. I managed to walk in a normal fashion to my office, before I collapsed in my chair, exhausted from the walk. Rude looked up from his work.

"Geeze, man. You look like hell." He said, standing up and walking over to me. I could see the concern on his face, despite the dark lenses covering his eyes. I looked up at him, slumped over my desk with my arms folded and resting on it. I lay my chin on my arms.

"I feel like hell." I mumbled, half-wishing he would just leave me alone to figure out what was wrong with me. I felt a large hand press gently against my forehead, which quickly pulled back.

"Reno, you're burning up." Rude pointed out, lowering himself a little to look at my face. "Where have you been for the past couple hours?"

I groaned and buried my face in my arms, trying to think of a sane way to say that I had been passed out in Hojo's lab and woke up on his experiment table. Before I could respond, I heard Tseng's sharp voice.

"Reno!" I forced my head up to see him in the doorway, looking a little surprised. He blinked a few times at me. "How did you get up here?"

I raised an eyebrow, despite the fact it made my sensitive head hurt more. "Awesome new invention, boss. It's called an elevator." I retorted, immediately regretting my smart-ass remark. Surprisingly, Tseng smiled lightly as he walked to my desk. I saw Hojo walk in behind him and froze. I sat up slowly as both looked me over.

"Hojo tells me you passed out in his lab while delivering the files." Tseng explained, examining my eyes as if to check for a concussion. Hojo nodded beside him, but said nothing. I shook my head, but stopped as it made my dizzy.

"No, I remember being hit with something. A… dart thingy." I said, struggling with my words as I gestured the size of the tranquilizer that had sparked my descent into unconsciousness. "And the files…" I started, remembering the blank papers. "It was all blank, nothing there." All three men looked at me like I was insane.

"Reno, are you feeling alright?" Hojo asked, placing two long bony fingers under my chin and tilting my head up so he could see my face better. I sighed and turned my head away.

"I'm serious." I told them all, getting a little more than annoyed. Tseng furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Rude.

"Rude, take Reno home, he's obviously not feeling well." Before I could protest, Tseng raised a hand to silence me. "You will take the next two days off, stay home and rest. Not a drop of alcohol during that time."

"Tseng, I-"

"Reno, this is not up for debate." He cut me off in a serious, authoritative tone. He nodded at Rude, who started to help me up. "Now go home and rest." With that, he turned and walked out of the room, the professor in tow. I sighed and rubbed my forehead, while Rude walked me out of the office.

"I don't need your help, Rude." I snapped. The bigger man let me walk on my own, but before I knew it, I was falling over. Luckily, my friend caught me.

"Yeah, I can see that." Rude mused calmly.

We made our way back to my apartment in silence, since I was less than in the mood for conversation. As Rude helped me over to my couch and sat me down, I looked at him with a sigh.

"Do you have any idea what happened?" I asked him hopefully. To my disappointment, he shook his head.

"Don't know a thing…" he made his way to my kitchen and got me a glass of water. He came back at handed it to me. "Now rest up. I'll swing by to check on you after work, 'Kay?"

I nodded and mumbled my appreciation, eyes on the floor. I heard footsteps, then the door shut with a light click. I growled and lay down, setting the cup on the coffee table. I wrapped the convenient nearby blanket around me and rest my pounding head on the armrest. I contemplated going to find my bottle of painkillers, but couldn't be bothered. Soon, my exhaustion caught up to me. I slipped back into sleep slowly, with countless questions heavy on my mind.

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Hope you liked it! It may not be the greatest, but I'm still building up to the good parts. Reno may seem a little OOC here, but it's hard to characterize him seriously. THAT is going to be a challenge with this fic. Wish me luck.

Reviews! You guys are so kind!

Nando the RPS King: Thanks for both of your reviews! Means alot to me. You're so kind! -hugs and give cookies-

Bruna Aquino: Thanks! Be assured there are many more chapters to come!

Desbrina: I'll keep updating as often as I can. I'm glad you like the story so far, thank you!

TruebornChaos: Ah, so true. A hangover is going to seem like anice break for Reno. Opps, I've said too much -sweatdrop-


	4. Bad Day Off

Apologies, my dear readers! I did not mean to keep you waiting! I couldn't get on the computer, but while I was stuck in reality, I managed to wipe the dust off my laptop and work on my fics there. Luckily I found a disk to transfer them onto my computer! I brink you another chapter, finally, and I hope you like it! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: All the characters belong to Square

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The boring, monotone voice of the news reporter went on and on, telling more and more about the 'President's new goals' and other things only a few pretend to care about. I made a reach for the remote from my lazy spot on the couch, but it was merely inches from my reach. I groaned and lay my head back down. My day off 'sick' had been horribly boring. Most of my sick days are the usual, call in while faking the flu, and take the day to do whatever I wished. Now that I was actually not feeling well, and the other Turks kept in constant check, I was bored senseless. I half wished the others would stop checking up on me. It wasn't like I was dying, right?

I managed to reach my cup of water, and took a sip. After years of using alcohol and soda as daily beverages, water seemed foreign and just plain gross. I put the cup back down and rolled onto my back, staring at the ceiling blankly. I tried, for the millionth time within the hour, to piece together what had happened to me. I remembered the blank papers in the folder, why would Tseng ask me to deliver that? I also remembered the dart sticking into my arm and the pain from that attack. Why did I come across as delirious to everyone else? I slowly rolled up my sleeve and looked at my shoulder. Just below it, was a little pinhole in my skin, with light swelling around it. I cursed lightly and rubbed it, which made the aching worse. What the hell had happened? The thought of a Turk assassination, which was popular amongst the angsty masses, came to mind, but I shook that out of my head. The security in the building had been insane for the past week, nobody could have gotten inside. Besides, if I were passed out, they would have killed me right there.

My train of thought was derailed when a sharp knock came at my door. Knowing who it would be, I didn't move from my spot.

"Sorry, I'm dead." I called. "Too bad you didn't check in on me every five minutes." I said with a tint of bitterness and a load of sarcasm in my voice. Rude walked in through the door, eyebrow raised.

"Geeze, man, we're just worried. No need to be a bitch about it." He snorted as he walked over to me. I stuck my tongue out at him, not even bothering to get up. My fellow Turks had indeed come at least once every hour, which was starting to get on my nerves. I wasn't a child, despite what Elena constantly told me. Rude smiled at me and sat on the adjacent armchair to the couch I was laying in. "How're you feeling?"

"About the same as I was one hour, four minutes, and thirty-seven seconds ago." I replied, still with sarcasm in my voice. Rude just leaned foreword a little.

"Good to know you're still as much of a smartass as you were then." He growled lightly, putting his palm on my forehead. "Well, you're cooling down, that's a good sign." He said before pulling his hand back.

"Thanks, captain obvious."

"You're welcome, general asshole." I saw a smirk play on his lips, and unable to help it, both of us chuckled lightly. I sat up and ran a hand through my hair, my earlier foul mood lightening. No matter how bad my mood was, I could always count on Rude to pick me up.

"So, how's it going at the office? Have the girls gone crazy thinking I've gone missing?" I asked, smiling lightly.

"Yeah, partying non-stop." Rude mused, sitting back in the chair. "They're asking when they can start dancing on your grave."

"Snap, that's cold, man." I growled at him, which made him smile again. "I ain't biting the dust anytime soon. It's because of Tseng that I'm a prisoner in my own home for the rest of the week."

"You could barely stand up, Reno. Tseng's just worried, and he means well." Rude told me. I snorted.

"He thinks I'm insane."

"We all do, but that's a totally different story."

I raised an eyebrow at my friend, which sort of worsened my now-dull headache. "I'm gone for a few hours, and you already take up the role of resident smartass. Tseng's right, I do have a bad influence on you."

We turned our attention to the news on my TV, when the annoying jingle of a 'breaking news report' started up. The news anchor started talking about a new man who had gone missing, and details of where he was seen last. I saw a picture of him and rolled my eyes.

"James Carroll." Rude repeated his name out loud. "Why does Shinra even let the news report on these people going missing? Doesn't that add fuel to the flame?"

I shook my head. "Even if the people knew, there's nothing they can do. Besides, if we didn't let them talk about it, it would make us seem suspicious." I glanced at the picture again before it flashed off the screen. I heard his last few blubbering words ring in my mind. Although it was hard to understand, the panic and fear in his voice told it all.

"Rufus likes to play with his commoners, doesn't he?" Rude said in a low voice, giving away his usually hidden dislike for the new way the company was being run. I sat back putting my feet up on the coffee table in a more relaxed position.

"Like a bunch of puppets." I said, having a mental picture come to mind. I pictured a giant version of the young president with marionette strings in his hands, playing with the citizens like toys. I smirked a little. It was awful to think, but it was so true.

Rude and I both fell silent when an update on the issue of Avalanche came up on the screen. Some video footage of them fleeing from the Shinra building in a truck and one of the motorcycles played for about the hundredth time since the incident. Then, as the reporter mention us Turks being unable to stop them in Gongaga, I couldn't help but let out a low growl.

"Avalanche this, terrorists that, the Turks are fucking incompetant." I hissed in bitter mock echo of the reporter. "Can't we go a day without them saying all this? I'd like to see them fight that spiky-haired jerk one-on-one. In fact, I'd like to see them take on a group of them." My feet swung down from the table to the floor, and I sat up a little. Rude looked over at me.

"Reno, calm down…"

"Maybe that suited up pansy would sing a differant tune if he got his ass handed to him while doing his job. Did he get his arm broken while defending his mission of dropping the sector seven plate down on his old home? I don't fucking think so!" I glared at the screen, hating the half-smug look on the reporter's face when he mentioned the terrorist group and their past attacks on Shinra. I knew he was supporting them, and was glad us Turks had gotten defeated so many times. I hoped he was an upcoming target for us.

"Buddy, relax!" Rude had heard the deadly snarl in my voice, and I knew it was starting to worry him. He must have thought I was going to give myself a stroke. I felt a heavy feeling of anger and frustration, perhaps because the events of the past few days had come back to me all at once.

Soon I felt very dizzy, and my blood started boiling. A strange wave went through my body, which totally drained me. My body felt heavy all of a sudden. I had to lay down, blinking up at the ceiling. That certainly was an odd feeling.

"Oh my god!"

I looked at Rude, who had stood up. He was staring at the television, which had started sparking wildly, then died and went blank. The unfortunate appliance gave a few unnatural popping and sizzling sounds, then went quiet, a ribbon of black smoke rising from it. Rude and I both blinked at it for a long moment before looking at each other.

"What the hall was that?" my friend asked, removing his sunglasses to reveal his wide eyes. I however, didn't hear his question.

"Holy crap! My TV!" I shot up and ran over to it, which gave me a dizzy spell. I shook the uneasiness away and looked over the TV for a moment, seeing it was totalled. I could smell burning, and could see the back of it had melted a little, like a huge surge of electricity had run through it. I let out a long string of curses and hit my fist off the top of the usless black box. Rude pulled me back and sat me down. He looked freaked out.

"Reno, do you have any materia on you?" he asked suddenly after glancing back at the television. I looked at him like he was insane, which I thought he was.

"No… why?"

Rude just shook his head and sat down beside me. "It looked like you caused it." He told me quietly as we both stared at my ex-TV. "I could have sworn…" he shook his head, rubbing his left eye. "Nevermind."

"What?" I looked over at him, eyebrows raised. "Why would I do that?"

Rude snorted. "You're little rant was pretty bitter." He paused again, his exposed blue eyes blinking. "I thought I saw a light… in your eyes." He seemed to be struggling with his words. "It sounds crazy, but it was like a dull glow."

I was utterly confused beyond belief, but I became curious. "Like Mako?" I asked, thinking about the pale green glow the substance gave off. Was Rude hallucenating too?

"Sort of." Rude shook his head again, putting his shades back on. "Possibly a trick of the mind."

"Rude, you're going crazy." I said as I sat back, sighing at my dead television. Now what I was supposed to do?

"I think I caught it from you." He replied, standing up. "Anyways, it could have just been an electrical surge."

"That's one hell of a surge, then." I sighed, the information Rude had told me playing over in my mind. "I guess I need to go TV shopping, eh?"

"I think you need some sleep right now, you look exausted." Rude said, looking down at me. "I'm going back to work, call me if you need anything."

I looked up at him innocently. "How about a new TV?" I asked sweetly. Rude just smiled.

"Go to sleep, I'll be back later."

I lay down, not bothering to fight the newdizziness that had come over me. "See you in an hour."

* * *

I hope you liked it. I found the ending part a little unnatural, but it was difficult for me to get that one part done, which was really important in the story. I'm sure you know what part I mean, it's horribly written due to my lack of good wording.

Reviews! Seriously, you guys are so sweet!

WrexSoul: Oh my god! How did I miss you last time! Formal apologies! I feel so bad! Your reviews made me feel so awesome, I thank you a million times. It seriously motivated me to continue with more chapters. Hojo is just insane, and also... It's Shinra, what do you expect? Don't worry, Reno's okay... for now. Thanks for both reviews, you rock!

Nando the RPS King: Oh, don't worry, it'll all clear up soon. I'm glad you like it so much, I was afraid it would chrash and burn after chapter two. But, I guess it's too early in the story to relax. Thanks again!

Desbrina: I update as often as I can! I'm trying... only because of my readers! Thanks for reviewing.

Dav J: I like your list of Fav characters! Reno is just awesome, one can't help but love him! And thank you so much for the nice review, it means alot!

Orphen27: Thanks! Your reviews mean alot, they keep me motivated. I'm glad you don't think Reno is too OOC, I'm always worrying about that.


	5. Vaccine

I bring you another chapter! I'm sorry if it sounds messed up, or wierd, I'm sick right now (day off school, booya!) so I have little judgement of anything. I got in a fight with my microwave this morning. -sweatdrop- Anwhoo, seriousness! Once again, I apologise if it's crappy, but I'm working under impared thinkingability! Enjoy anyways!

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Square

* * *

I arrived at work on time, surprisingly anxious to get out of my apartment. I would have thought a few days off would be a nice vacation for me, but it was hell. I was especially bored without my television, and had little energy, so I couldn't go out if I wanted to. The whole incident with my television was still irritating me, since I couldn't figure out what the hell had happened. Even now I was trying to push the thoughts of that out of my head so I could focus on work. I am a Turk, I can't let little things get in the way of my job. 

"Good morning, sleeping beauty." Rude greeted me when I trudged into the office and sat down at my desk.

"Morning." I replied, not in the mood for coming up with a smart remark. I looked through the assorted files on my desk to see what I needed to catch up on. Paperwork was the worst part of the job, it was boring, senseless, and who keeps records of who they kill, anyway?

"Feeling any better?" Rude asked, not looking up from his own piles of work.

"I have a headache that feels like I got shanked in the temple by a spoon, but other than that, I'm good." I said as I started scribbling at some papers in front of me. "Did I miss much?" Rude seemed to consider this for a moment.

"No, actually. It was nice and quiet around here for once."

"I'm perfectly able to chuck a stapler at your head." I growled, sparking a light chuckle from him.

"I missed you, too."

We continued on with our work, and I was reminded of how much I hated sitting in the office. Ironically, I wished I could go home. I leaned back in my chair lazily and sighed.

"I wish we'd go out on more missions, I'm not made for office work." I said out loud, mainly to myself. Rude glanced up at me, but shook his head and looked back to his work. I spun my chair once around and sighed. "Wanna go bug Elena?"

"She's in a bad mood today, I wouldn't bother." Rude told me in monotone. "I personally like my limbs where they are." I laughed lightly at his statement.

"But her getting mad is what makes it so fun!"

"I'll get back to you when I become suicidal."

I laughed again and finished off another report with my signature. "Speaking of Elena, why don't you ask her out?" I found amusement in the look on his usually emotionless face. He looked both a little embarrassed and surprised. He then shook his head.

"Nah, she likes Tseng. I'd rather not embarrass myself anyway."

"You're a wuss." I accused light-heartedly. "This isn't high school, y'know."

"Excuse me? Who's the one who hasn't been on a date in eleven months?" Rude's voice was slightly smug as he looked at me with s smile.

"I didn't know you were keeping count." I retorted with a huff while crossing my arms. Rude chuckled.

"It makes me feel a little better about myself. And don't worry about loosing your ego, it's about the size of Midgar."

"Touché, my friend."

Our conversation was interrupted when Hojo appeared at the door. We both looked at him and straightened up. The scientist said nothing as he walked over to my desk and pulled out a penlight. He shone it in my eyes and examined my face for a moment. I froze completely.

"How are you feeling today, Reno?" the professor suddenly asked, pocketing his light. I blinked at him for a moment.

"I'm fine…"

"You are overdue for several vaccinations, am I correct?" he asked me. My throat went dry.

"N-not that I'm aware of." I stammered a little. I hated needles so much, but as far as I knew, I was up to date on them.

"Well, my records show you are, and it is company policy that all employees are up to date with inoculations." Hojo straightened up. "Please, come with me." He started walking towards the door. I sat in shock for a moment and looked at Rude, who shrugged. He knew how freaked out I got over injections.

"It'll be fine." he reassured me with a smile. "Don't make he have to hold you down again."

I sighed as I stood up. "Please, I've come so close to forgetting that horrible day." I then followed Hojo, internally cursing over and over again. Not only was it because of the fact I hated injections, but my trust in the scientist had dwindled slightly since the incident the week before. At first I thought he couldn't have possibly knocked me out, but then again, it was his laboratory. The thought of going back there made my heart skip a beat. He lead me down to the lab in silence, thankfully not noticing my sweating. I glanced around the lab and shuddered a little. He asked me to sit in a chair that was beside a table, where several syringes lay ready. I swallowed the lump in the throat and sat down hesitantly. I rolled up my sleeve when he instructed me to, and locked my eyes on the wall standing opposite from me. Before I knew it, I felt the pinpoint sting of the needle in my arm, and I bit my lip, trying to ignore my racing heartbeat. It wasn't the pain I hated, I could take that, it was just the whole 'something-stuck-in-your-arm' concept that disturbed me. As Hojo removed the needle and picked up another one, I did my best to relax. I felt him pierce the skin and pump the liquid into my arm. I winced a little from a dull ache that was forming in my whole body.

"The pain will subside in a few minutes." Hojo said, perhaps catching my wince. He lifted the third needle, and I dared a glance at it. I was surprised to see it glowing a dull yellow colour.

"What's that?" I asked, having to look away as he jabbed it into my arm. I felt the liquid enter my body and suppressed a shudder. It felt so much warmer than my own temperature.

"Tetanus shot." Hojo replied simply before picking up the final vaccine. "This is the last one, this may make you feel a little nauseous." he told me before giving me the inoculation. I winced again as my headache worsened, but at the same time, I felt a wave of energy flow through me for a quick moment. I opened my eyes and sat up, but leaned back again when I was rewarded with a dizzy spell. God, I was getting sick of those.

"You sit here for a few minutes before you leave, I don't want you passing out halfway back because of a reaction to the vaccinations. " I heard the professor, but wasn't paying attention. I was watching the room spin around me slowly, like a carousel. I blinked stupidly at the ceiling and tilted my head. Why did I feel such a surge of energy, but at the same time, so dizzy and nauseous? I turned to the table and folded my arms on it and lay my head in them. I noticed now that the professor was nowhere within sight, but I considered that good at the moment. I stared at the folder that lay open on the table about a foot away from me and blinked a few times. I reached over and pulled it towards me. Through the dizziness I could read my name, and a date. I recognised the date as the day Tseng sent me home after passing out. I looked at another paper and could barely read the typing over my temporarily impaired vision. But I caught a glimpse of the words 'Mako', 'Blood', and 'Materia'. I tried to process those words for a moment, but my concentration was disturbed when I heard Hojo walking back. I closed the file and paused before setting it back down. After staring at it, I slipped the file under my dark blue blazer. The scientist arrived a moment later and looked at the table for almost a full minute.

"Did I take my file to my office already?" He asked, looking rather confused. I shrugged, trying to look innocent.

"I thought I saw you pick it up." I lied, internally grateful for my gift of bending the truth in a believable way. Hojo sighed lightly.

"I'm getting so old I'm loosing my memory. You may go now, Reno."

As I half-stumbled back to my office, I found Rude still at his desk. He looked up at me, looking concerned. "You okay, Reno? You look pale." I nodded and sat down, subtly pulling the folder out from under my blazer.

"I'm fine, just had four needles, so I'm a little tipsy." I said with a forced smile. Rude nodded and looked back down to his work. I set the folder in my lap and looked over it, trying to process the writing in my head despite the fact I could barely think. The dizziness had gotten worse, but I kept reading.

'#00937593' …that seemed odd, that wasn't my Shinra id number. I kept reading, but froze up upon seeing two distinct words in the blended mass of black text.

' - Blood Infusion"

I couldn't read the bit before the dreaded words, but they alone were all I could stand. I slowly closed the folder, feeling like I was reading a horror novel. I wanted to open it and read, out of morbid curiosity, but was afraid to know what was going to happen next. What was going to happen to me.

That definitely was no Tetanus shot.

* * *

Creepy, no? I hope it is, that's what I'm aiming for XD I might be moving a tad too fast, and if that's so, I'm sorry. I'm either moving too fast or too slow with this -sigh- I need medicine! 

Reviews! Holy crap, I seriously love you guys! -hugs everyone-

Nando the RPS King: Thank you so much! I'm glad you're liking it so far. You always review so kindly, thanks again.

Ymely: Oh, you'll see what happened soon enough. Thank for the review.

seal-chan: Yes, yes, I'm updating as often as I can -passes out- I'm happy you like my writing, I always get worried it's all wierd and crappy. oh well, thanks!

WrexSoul: Hey, I hate Hojo with a passion! He creeps me out! It's good to know someone is enjoying the bits of humour I added in. After watching Advent Children, Reno without humour seems like blasphemy! And I'm writing as much as I can. -sneezes- this is supposed to be my day off! XD Thanks a million for the reviews!

tifa-lockhart-27: Aw, that makes me feel special! Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying it.

TruebornChaos: I feared that I would turn Reno into Vincent 2.0 too, but I'm taking a differant approach. I'm trying to make it seem in ways differant, but in some other ways the same. You'll see what I mean in upcoming chapters. Of course amusing dialogue between Reno and Rude is needed, that's how I usually write them. Thanks agian for the review!

Dav J: I'm glad your enjoying this. I feel bad for the TV,what did it ever do wrong? I'm updating as often as I can, don't worry. Thanks!

Thymine: Aw, I feel so warm and fuzzy inside:D thank you! It's good to know you like my writing style, and think Reno is in character. I hope I can keep going with itrunning this smoothly. Thanks for the review!


	6. The Folder's Secrets

Yes, another chapter. I'm trying to get as many chapters done as possible. This one might seem dry, but it's needed. I was trying to highlight Reno and Rude's friendship. It also explains what happened to Reno in the lab when he was passed out. It's worth reading, just bare with me.

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Square

* * *

He read it over, flipping the papers when he finished reading them. He lifted his sunglasses to the top of his head and read it again. He replaced them over his eyes and read the papers for a third time. It was as if he hoped it would change if he read the horrible report enough times. However, it was impossible, because I myself had read it countless times and hoped so much for it to be false, but there it was, in black and white. He was dead silent, eyes narrowed in concentration and disbelief. His deep blue eyes scanned the pages again and again, trying to calculate all this information in his mind. I heaved a sigh. 

"You believe me now?" I asked when he finished reading the contents of the file over for a fifth time. My friend slowly closed the folder, removing his sunglasses again.

"I never thought you were lying." Rude told me quietly, handing the folder with my name over to me. He seemed in shock, but his ice cool exterior hid it well. "It just hard to get my head around…"

"Tell me about it." I sighed again, sitting back on my couch and throwing the folder onto my coffee table. I ran my clammy hands over my face and tried to calm my leaping heart. I tried to tell myself it was a bad dream, but like the dozens of other times, it failed.

"You alright, Reno?" my partner asked, concern heavy in his voice. I looked at him through between my fingers and forced a nod. Momentarily I regretted him knowing me so well, because his furrowed brows told me he saw through my lie. He stood up from the armchair and sat beside me on the couch. He sat me up and looked at me, folding his sunglasses and placing them in his blazer pocket. "You have to confront Tseng about this."

"I've already lost my dignity." I growled, locking my eyes on the floor. "I would like to keep my job."

"Reno," Rude narrowed his eyes a little. "This will keep happening if you don't at least do something about it."

I sighed again. "Telling you that I'm Hojo's new Lab Rat is probably enough to get us in serious trouble." I knew I had to tell him. There were few things Rude didn't know about me, and I knew almost everything about him. I looked at the folder quietly for a moment. It was a sick symbolism of my newest nightmare. I had read it twenty times more than Rude had, yet it still seemed so surreal and otherworldly. Yet, I could feel it in my body. I could feel the power that pumped through me with every pulse, and the energy pushing under my skin.

If anything positive could come out of this, I knew what had happened to my television. It was indeed me, and my own channelled rage that set surges of electricity through it. From reading the files, I learned it was from a procedure I had received in the lab. I reached forward and pulled the folder over to me. I opened it and stared at the paper before me.

'Materia - Blood Infusion'

It was a sickening yet curious line, and it repeated in my mind several times every time I read it. I scanned the list of materia types Hojo had melted down and injected into my veins.

'Lightening.' - This explained the television incident.

'Fire.'

'Ice.'

I heaved a shaky sigh. _'Don't loose it, man. Be strong, Rude doesn't need to see you like this.' _I said to myself, in my mind. I looked over the notes that described the procedure that Hojo had performed to get the Materia in my veins. It sickened me. He took the orbs and had melted them down under extreme heat. I swallowed a lump in my throat when I read about how he removed my own blood from my body and merged the materia with it.

"He stopped my heart…" I said quietly, my voice slightly cracked. "for four minutes, I was dead." I felt my bones shaking under my skin. Rude looked at me and gently took the folder from my hands. He closed it and set it down on the coffee table, out of my reach. My eyes didn't even move from where they were when I was reading the paper. "I'm not human anymore…"

"Reno, you are human." Rude told me in a firm but gentle voice. He put a strong hand on my shoulder. "You have to be strong. If you give up mentally, you're body will follow."

"Maybe that's what's best." I whispered, breaking the barrier between my internal feelings and my mask that hid it all. I let my eyes close tightly and tried to steady my breathing. I didn't know whether it was the feeling of defeat and helplessness, or shock and insult of being a specimen, but it was all overwhelming to me. I felt Rude grip my shoulder.

"Don't say that." he growled, his voice dangerously serious and caring at the same time. "You'll get through this, Reno."

"But…" I trailed off on my first word, immediately regretting starting to tell him what I was hiding. I stopped talking and breathing, eyes opening slowly.

"Reno, don't hold it all in." Rude said softly, his strong, powerful exterior contrasted by his usually hidden gentle, caring attitude. "You can tell me."

I blinked at my feet, telling myself that I should just keep my mouth shut. Perhaps a lie that can keep your dignity is better than the truth that can make you feel like a child. I took a deep breath.

"It's just…" I paused, looking at Rude. "I'm scared. I fear for my own life as soon as I walk into that building." My voice was small, and my fists clenched over each other so tight that my knuckles lost their colour. I felt so weak, so unlike me. My confidence deflated, and I felt like nothing more than a lab rat. It was there, in that pile of papers. I was only there to be their little specimen. I felt Rude's grip on my shoulder lighten up a little and he gave me a reassuring look.

"I understand. Don't be ashamed, buddy." he said quietly, once again reading right through me. He smiled lightly. "If I were in your spot, I'd be a sobbing mess."

Despite my hurt pride, I managed to crack a smile. "I pictured you breaking Hojo's neck in seven places, instead."

"I'm contemplating doing that right now." he told me. "I wish I could do something for you."

I shook my head and sighed. "Nothing that can be done, Rude. But thanks for being here. Means a lot." I felt him shake my shoulder gently.

"No problem-" Rude was cut off by his cell phone ringing. The annoying tune reached my ears and I couldn't hide a smile.

"You have the stupidest ring tone ever, Rude."

"Better than yours." he mused, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone. He opened it and put it to his ear. "Rude speaking." he listened for a moment. "Okay, we're on it." He sighed and closed the phone, standing up. "C'mon, Tseng wants us to head to Mount Nibel."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "For what?"

"Avalanche is there." Rude told me while pocketing his phone. "He wants us to go after them."

I sighed and stood up. "Oh, this has been a great day…" I felt a hand on my shoulder again.

"You okay, Reno? I can go alone if you don't wanna go." Rude offered, looking concerned again. I shrugged his hand off and picked up my EMR.

"It's better if I let off some steam." I said, twirling the weapon half-heartedly before attaching it to my belt. I paused and sighed. There I go again, putting on my egotistical mask. However, I saw Rude smile a bit while putting his shades on.

"Let's go, we'll have some drinks after. Kicking some ass will make you feel better anyway."

We made our way to the door and left my apartment in silence. As I walked down the hallway, eyes on the floor, I felt a playful nudge in my side. I nudged my friend back, smiling a little. My mood was a lot better than a few minutes before. My friend suddenly took me into a headlock.

"C'mon, I saw a smile…" his voice had a tint of teasing to it as he ruffled my hair. I couldn't help but laugh as I shoved him away.

"Get off, you big oaf!" I made an attempt to fix my hair and re-tightened my ponytail. Rude caught his balance and smiled at me. I sighed lightly and pushed him again lightly. "Yo, Rude…"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

* * *

Maybe a little dry, maybe a little cheesy, maybe very dumb. I tried -huff- 

Reviews! I love you guys!

Nando the RPS King: Kefka what? O.o never heard of it. Shame on me. Oh yes, and my microwave... it won. I'd rather not talk about it, it's quite embaressing XD Thank you for your reviews, you're too kind!

Asellas: I never let anyone near me with needles XD Thank you for the review!

Dav J: Yes, I'm much better now, thank you. I hate Hojo! -stomps on Hojo plushie- DIE! I'm sorry if it disturbed you, it freaked me out... and I WROTE it! XD Thanks!

Thymine: Needles are pure evil! EVIL, I say! I'm glad you like it so far, I'm always worried about what the readers think. Thanks for the review!

TruebornChaos: XD So much love there, eh? And it's good you have an idea of what Hojo is trying, 'cause I don't even know... Poor Reno, I feel so bad for doing all this to one of my favourite characters of all time. Oh well, thanks for the review!

WrexSoul: Aww, you're reviews rock! Sorry if I royally freaked you out, it's all part of the story. This chapter here may not be as suspenseful, but don't worry, I'll make stronger attempt to freak you out again! I'm so happy the story seems to have you so interested, your kind words help keep me motivated to write more! Thanks a million!

Orphen27: I'm not sure how strongly it is going to stay with the storyline. There will be at least a couple encounters (with Avalance and such) that aren't in the game. Also, I'm not too sure about couples... I've been tempted to add some Reno/Rude (my guilty pleasure) but I don't think it would work too well with what I'm planning. I might add some coupling here and there, but most likely not. If you have any suggestions, add it in your review and I'll think it over. Thanks!

Flying-Bronco: I'm updating as fast asI can! lol, I'm trying. And thanks for your kind review.


	7. Reactor

Finally, I bring you another chapter! Nothing fancy, but a chapter nontheless. I hope it's not getting boring or too repedative for you guys. It's all part of the plot. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Square.

* * *

I silently cursed Tseng as I folded my arms tightly over my chest and shivered lightly. Sure, lets send two Turks to the mountains without warning, whenever we feel like it! I wished I had at least grabbed a jacket. It wasn't even snowing, but the sun had just set and the night air was cold. So cold I felt like I was going to shatter if someone were to poke me. 

Rude walked beside me in the same manner. His sunglasses were put away in his pocket so he could see in the dark, and his eyes had the usual very dull glow of mako against the blackness around us. He was silent as we walked, but I could tell he was also anything but happy with this mission. I felt sorry for him since he had no hair, and his bald head must have been freezing cold.

He walked on for what seemed like hours, stumbling in the dark, and freezing in the cold, until we can upon an unfortunately familiar sight. I looked up at the old Mako reactor, which seemed to glow a little in the darkness. I stopped and stared at it for a long time from behind the misty puffs of breath that came from between my partially open lips. I had been in there before, the place where the great General Sephiroth begun his slow descent into madness. I myself had seen the horrible things within those tanks, all victims of ShinRa's twisted experiments. Rude must have sensed my anxiety, because his hand was placed on my shoulder and begun to pull me into walking again. I however, stayed still.

"Can we look inside?" I asked quietly, my voice barely audible over the sounds of the wind that whipped my hair around in sharp gusts. "Just for a minute?"

"Reno…" Rude's voice was full of concern. "C'mon, we have to keep moving."

"Please." I didn't take my eyes off the reactor as I everything but begged him. I heard him sigh and he removed his hand from my shoulder.

"Alright."

We walked up the cold steel steps and pushed the door open, which took a great amount of force. We walked in and felt a rush of warmth, but at the same time the place felt so cold. I walked ahead towards the core of the reactor, feeling my nerves jump at every sound of the harsh winds blowing outside. I heard Rude walk behind me, but I was focused on what was ahead. I stepped into the main chamber where I was greeted with the bitter sight of rows and rows of tanks. Some were cracked and leaking, a couple were even open and empty. At the top of the tall staircase was the remains of the Jenova tank, which Sephiroth had almost completely destroyed. I felt a shudder creep down my spine, and my head started throbbing. I massaged my temples with my fingers lightly in an attempt to dull it down.

"You okay?" Rude asked quietly from beside me. I nodded.

"Fine, I think my body's not liking all the Mako and chemicals in here." I replied before stepping over to one of the tanks. I peered in for a moment before wrinkling my nose and looking away. It was the freakiest thing I was ever seen. Well, second to the file I had stolen from Hojo. In the tank was a glowing blue liquid and a human-shaped beast. Perhaps comparing it to a human would be off, it looked so distorted and mutated that I felt sick to my stomach. I had seen it before, but it still disturbed me. I dared another look into the tank out of pure morbid fascination, but I looked away in the same manner as before.

"They were human once, weren't they?"

"…yes." Rude said hesitantly. I looked over the rows and rows of tanks. They were human, but changed into these…thingsby Mako. I felt a heavy feeling in my chest. Mako was put into my body, in both natural and Materia form. It took all of my self-control not to throw up. I leaned against the railing and held my head, which I thought was going to cave in on itself.

"God…" I coughed dryly, closing my eyes. "Is this gonna be what I turn into?" I asked out loud, not really to anyone. At the same time, my voice demanded an answer. I felt arms pull me away from the railing gently and away from the tanks. "I'm going to be THAT!" I almost whimpered, finding that I was shaking all over. My eyes were still closed tightly. I felt strong hands on my shoulders start to shake me roughly.

"Get a hold of yourself!" Rude hissed, sounding firm but very concerned. The shaking stopped, and I forced my eyes open and looked at him. I turned my head to look at the tanks, but he used a hand to turn my head back to face him. "You're not going to end up like that." he told me seriously. "Stop telling yourself these things."

"But… all the Mako, the injections…"

"I promise you, it wont end up being like that." he voice and grip on my shoulder lightened. I looked at him and sensed the deep amount of worry he had in him. I wanted to apologize, but my throat was too dry. There was a long silence before he nodded his head towards the exit. "Let's go, we're here on a mission, remember?"

We walked out in silence, but it took several minutes because I kept hesitating and wanting to go back. I didn't know why, but something drew me to that place. Rude would have to turn me around and lightly push me to get me to start walking again. Eventually we got outside, back into the cold. I suddenly had a sense of understanding as to how Sephiroth felt upon looking into those tanks. He could have been angry, upset, insulted, or maybe even scared. I felt all of those emotions in increasing amounts.

He trudged our way to the entranceof a cave, but stopped when we heard voices inside. I recognised two of them as Strife's and that Lion-beast. I heard another man talking, but it was unfamiliar. His voice was deep and quiet. I looked at Rude and he motioned for me to follow. We slipped into the cave and behind a tall stalagmite. There was a large bonfire nearby, with three people sitting around it. The smoke from the flames rose up through a small opening in the top of the cave. I looked at the group of people and saw Spike-head facing away from us. The beast called Red XIII was laying down nearby, on the verge of falling asleep. Across the fire, a dark-haired man sat, completely silent. In the fire's like I could see a dark crimson cape around him, and a similar-coloured headband that kept his long hair out of his eyes. I couldn't put a name to him, so he must have been a new member in the rebel group. They were all unaware of us.

"What should we do?" Rude whispered very quietly. "Just go in and attack?"

I thought for a long moment, watching the group with attentive eyes. I looked at the flames, and decided we should attack in a way that would be to our advantage. I signalled for Rude to wait. For a moment I was temporarily grateful for the powers I had been unwillingly given. Concentrating on the fire, I felt my blood run hot and my muscles twitch lightly. I could even see a faint yellow glow against the rocks that emitted from my eyes. My heart pounded hard against my ribs. With a light twitch of the eyelid, Ice was cast on the fire, which made it go out completely. I heard a surprised curse from Strife, and the group scrambling to their feet. In the very faint light of the cave, Rude and I pounced in to attack.

* * *

There you have it! Hope you liked it, and sorry there wasn't any fighting this time, next time, I PROMISE!

Reviews! Holy bejesus I LOVE YOU GUYS!

Flying-Bronco: Wow, favourite? That means SO much to me! This review made me smile all day. I'm glad you liked the relationship between Reno and Rude, I keep worrying that it's all messed up. I'm gonna update as often as possible, wish me luck. Thank you for the review!

Orphen27: XD I had a feeling you'd prefer Reno and Rude as just friends. Everyone does. Don't worry, no Yaoi here. And like you mentioned, there definatly WILL be Vincent and Reno interaction, I've been planning it for a while now. And I agree, RenoElena and RudeElena is good too. But I doubt there will be any pairings in this fic. Thanks for the review!

Thymine: Oh yes, Advent Children was awesome. Ialso loved how Reno was totally oblivious to Rude getting hurt over and over again. The best was when he smacked Rude in the face with his EMR, and had NO clue, then seconds later almost did it again! XD priceless. Thanks for the review!

Nando the RPS King: Thanks, I'm glad you liked that chapter. This one is also a little event-less, but I hope you like the interaction. And thanks for clearing up that Kefka thing.I havent played FF6, and I think I'll give it a try! Thanks again!

TruebornChaos: But the other kind ofReno/Rude goodyness is nice too -cough- -gets shot- X.X Anywhoo, yes, you were almost dead on with the materia-blood thingy. Good job! (Maybe my writing is just predictable) Thanks for clearing up the Kefka thingy. I love that laugh, too XD thank you!

Dav J: Nope! No battle yet! XD sorry! I hopeyou like the chapter anyway. Thanks for the review!

Delusion48: Aw, thank you so much. Yes, it will get darker later on, so beware! -evil laughter- ahem... thanks!

WrexSoul: Wow, your reviews always make me so much happier with my work! I'm so happy you liked that last chapter, even though it was just the two talking. Making Reno all upset and vulnerable makes me sad! Poor guy, I feel back for doing all this to him. And it'll only get worse! anywhoo, I agree on what you said about couples, there probably wont be any in this story. Thanks for the review!


	8. Blood and Mako

YES! Two chapters in one weekend! I hope you guys liek this one, there's some fighting involved. (not too much, but meh) Enjoy!

Disclaimer: All Characters Belong to Square

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I could see faintly in the dark as I pulled out my EMR and headed for the blonde swordsman. Between the lion-beast's tail and the sense-enhancing Mako in my body, I could see enough to attack. The group was taken by surprise, naturally, and we had the advantage. My weapon crackled against Strife's arm, and waves of electricity went through his body. I heard him hit the floor and the scraping of his sword against the ground. In the faint light there was a flash of metal and I jumped back out of the way. I heard a gunshot, but knew it wasn't Rude who had fired it. How convenient, they always have a firearm on them. I growled a curse at Strife as he took a chance to knee me just below the ribs. 

"Split up!" I heard the group leader bark to his comrades. In the confusion of them fleeing, I saw a flicker of crimson by to my right. I looked back for a moment.

"Rude, you okay?" I asked quickly, rewarded with a low grunt in response before I heard him run in the opposite direction, after Red XIII. I looked back to where I had seen the dark man's cape and ran that way. I found myself running down a dark tunnel, illuminated by oddly shaped green stalagmites. I could sense it was Mako, since my head was starting to hurt. I slowed and looked around, seeing no sign of the other man. I lowered my weapon and looked around at my strange surroundings. It was light enough to see perfectly because of the glowing Mako, but it was creepy. Why did everything I face have to be so damn creepy?

In my moment of lowered guard, a bullet shot into the wall, missing my face by inches. I froze for a moment before looking over to where the shot had come from. I saw the caped man crouching on a raised level of rock, pointing a handgun at me. One golden talon-hand gripped the edge of the rock. His narrowed red eyes seemed to have an inhuman glint in them. Does the creepiness ever stop? I smirked lightly.

"Need to work on your aim?" I mocked lightly, a light laugh in my voice. The dark-looking man didn't move from his spot.

"Leave." he said in a quiet, dangerous voice. In some strange way, his serious and calm aura reminded me of Tseng, if you were to dress him up like a vampire. I twirled my EMR in my hand half-heartedly.

"Sorry, pal, official Turk business." I saw his eyes soften a little, but he still looked intimidating.

"It's a shame to see the Turks take such a heavy decline over the years." he said, almost like he knew exactly how to hit home. I glared and my lips curled a little.

"I doubt you know anything about the Turks." I growled before leaping up and swinging my EMR at him. He swiftly jumped out of the way and landed a kick to my side. I was knocked over, but soon got up before looking at him again. He was standing on top of one of the rounded stalagmites with amazing balance. The gun in his normal hand was pointed at me.

"Sad to say, I was one of you, once." I said, eyes alight with determination and bitterness. I decided that that was enough from him. Being a Turk was something I was proud of, and no dark-caped freak was going to bash it. I felt my blood run hot again, and I concentrated on him as best I could. When my eyes let off their soft glow, he looked almost shocked. Before he could react, Bolt was cast on him, and electricity shot through his body. I took the chance to lunge again and landed a punch to his face. He hit the wall hard, clouds of dust and dirt covering him for a moment. I straightened up and relaxed, but within seconds he flew out from the cover of airborne dust and swiped at me with his gold claws. I received several slashes in the chest and was sent backwards. I hit the ground and looked up in him to see a flash of dark red before he was gone down the tunnel. I sat up and gave a pained gasp as pain branched out all through my body. I brought a hand to my chest, which was wet and hot with blood. Looking down at my bloody hand, I felt my face pale and my stomach turn. My blood wasn't normal now, it wasn't even one colour. Most of it was jet black, with swirls of glowing colour in it, from the materia. I sat there, shaking for a moment, completely horrified with my own blood. I begged silently for it to be a joke, a trick of the light, but it was right there, caking my trembling fingers in this wet, sticky substance.

"FUCK YOU!" I suddenly screamed, my angry voice bouncing off the walls around me. I didn't bleed red. I didn't bleed blood anymore. I bled the outcome of a twisted, sick mind. I punched the ground and felt tears sting my eyes. "Fuck you, Hojo. Fuck you and all you live for." I controlled my sobs and looked over at where I saw the so called Ex-Turk disappear. I stood, knowing that I was taking this out on someone, and it wasn't going to be myself.

Running felt like a strain as I chased him down the tunnel. I had caught up to the strange man, finally, but he was hard to attack. He was evading me, but also shooting back atmeevery few seconds. I dodged the bullets and focused on attacking him.As I ran, strings of electricity sparked between my fingers, and I was determined to get him. I kept sending my unnatural magic at him, but he was too quick for me. He quickly turned a corner and I followed, only to end up facing him. He was taller than me, so I had to look up at him. He glared at me, surprisingly not looking disgusted with my discoloured blood, which was soaking the front of my shirt. I could have fried him right there, and he could have shot me point-blank in the face, but neither of us moved for a long time.

"What has he done to you?" the man asked quietly, a sense of demanding in his voice. He knew that my magic wasn't natural, and neither was my body. I stared at him silently for a moment before stepping back.

"Just go." I sighed before turning around. I felt a heavy sense of defeat, I just wanted to go home and sleep. Nothing was worth my time anymore. Life was becoming a freakish nightmare.

"I asked you a question." The man growled. I looked back at him.

"And I told you to leave." I snapped. "Unless you want your ass kicked, I suggest you move on."

C'mon, don't loose it here. My mind hissed at me. _Wait until you get home until you start crying like a baby!_

My mind hissed at me. 

I started walking again, but in one ghostly movement, the man was in front of me, blocking my path. I glared up at him, but he didn't return the look.

"You're his lab rat now, aren't you?" his voice wasn't smug, or cruel, but an honest question. I still felt extremely offended. My hands pulled into tight fists.

"You son of a-"

"I heard you cursing his very name." he told me quietly. I turned to walk in the opposite direction, but once again he blocked me stubbornly.

"What do you want?" I hissed angrily. This guy had some nerve, especially since he knew I could set him on fire by just looking at him. His face was very calm, although half-hidden by his cape.

"I too fell victim to Hojo's disturbed experiments." he said. "Get out of the company while you still have your life."

I blinked up at him, raising my eyebrows. What was this guy trying to pull on me? "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because nobody deserves what he does to people like you and me." he replied softly, eyes still glinting with that strange light. I could see it in his blood red orbs, how inhuman the scientist had made him, and how bitter he was for it. I sighed and lowered my head.

"Just go." I mumbled. A long silence followed before he turned away. He cape seemed to flow with him as he stepped away from me.

"You're blood runs black, but you're heart must keep pumping." with that, the man was gone, vanishing with a flicker of crimson fabric into the shadows.

On the defeated trip home, I ignored Rude's questions, and didn't even bid him goodbye before dragging my feet to my apartment. I didn't say a word to him, and I didn't bother calling Tseng to confirm we were alright. Because I wasn't.

I sat on my couch, peeled off my shirt and blazer, and lay back. I held a white towel to my chest, thankful that the bleeding had mostly stopped. Even if I needed stitches, there was no way in hell I was going to the hospital. Enough people have seen my blood. Could I even call it blood? I let out every thing I held inside, cursing people's names and yelling at nothing. My emotions flowed from my like my blood, disturbing and heavy. Some part of me wished I could bleed until I was unconscious.

After a long while of staring at the ceiling and hurting my throat with suppressed sobs, I sat up. Still holding the now dark-stained towel to my chest, I walked to my freezer. I opened it and pulled out a mostly full bottle of vodka. I unscrewed the cap and took a hefty swig. As the burn of the alcohol slid down my throat, adding to the sting of my wounds, I decided I was drinking until I was numb.

* * *

Don't hate me, I tried. I know you guys expected more fighting, but there's just so much that I have to add. I hope you guys liked it. 

Reviews! One day and so many! I love you guys.

Nando the RPS King: Aw, thanks! I'm glad you're likeing this so much!

Lucifiel: I TOTALLY agree, both about how great and loveable Reno is, and that He and Vincent should hook up! -nosebleeds at the thought- Thanks for the review! and Reno is pure awesomeness!

Thymine: I also love that part, Rude pracitcally drags Reno back into the room. XD I love them so much. Wait, then why am I putting Reno through hell? Gah, I'm a monster! Meh, I hope you like this chapter anyway. Thanks!

Delusion48: I'm glad you liked this so much! I keep worrying that it's getting boring or repedative. Thank you so much for your kind review, it means so much to me!

Bruna Aquino: Meh, no pairings, sorry. I'm glad you liek the friendship and carebetween Reno and Rude, it's something I love writing about. Thanks for the review!

WrexSoul: kitty cordon bleu -giggles- your reviews are the best. Poor Reno, why does he have to be so curious? Well, I guess like you said... I make him -hits head off desk- I'm so awful! Well, I hope you like this chapter, you sure seemed to like the last one. Thanks!


	9. Two Good Things

I am on a ROLL! You guys are just so great with your reviews, I got motivated to keep writing. It's for you, my readers, because you seem to liek this so much! Thank you all! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Square

* * *

The first thing I felt, even before I realised I was awake, was the intense throbbing in my head. I started to groan lightly, but even that hurt. I kept my eyes closed, but felt that I was laying in bed, so I was in my own room. I felt the sheets tucked around me tightly, and the comfort it gave me – despite the pain all through my body. I lay half-asleep, in a bittersweet moment before I remembered some of the events from the night before. This time I let out a real groan, and forced my eyes open. The bedroom melted into place around me, and I slowly looked down at my chest. I was wearing a black T-shirt, which confused me slightly. I faintly remembered removing my shirts to clean up my blood. 

Oh god, my blood.

I lifted up the shirt and found a layer of bandages taped to my chest. I blinked at the cleaned wound for a moment. I certainly did not remember that before I decided to drink myself to sleep. I tried to sit up, but the pain from the wounds and my head made me give up on that easily. I lay back slowly, bringing a hand to my forehead. I noticed my goggles were gone, but before I could give it a second thought, I felt a harsh wave of nausea wash through me. My stomach seemed to do flips as I forced my hung over body to the bathroom. I made it in time to kneel to the porcelain God and spill the contents of my last meal. Could it get any worse? I felt a pained sob contract my chest, but I stopped myself. I did this to myself, I couldn't get upset over it. My throat burned, my head throbbed, my chest stung, and my whole body felt like a toxic waste dump.

As I gagged painfully, I gripped the lid of the toilet with white knuckles. I seemed to kneel there forever, coughing and gagging in such a pitiful manner I was ashamed of myself. I suddenly felt an even worse feeling in my stomach, like it had been punched multiple times. Soon I was coughing up the black substance that I now called my blood. I groaned again and leaned my head against the upright lid. This time I wasn't going to mutter the usual "I'll never drink again" that usually accompanied my worst hangovers. I knew I would be drowning out reality tonight, and the next night, and the night after that.

"Oh, Reno…" I heard a soft, feminine voice behind me, but I didn't bother turning around. I knew who it was without question.

"Your hangover lecture coming early this time, 'Lena?" I half growled, eyes closed and trying to control my raging stomach. I heard my fellow Turk sigh and walk towards me. She knelt down beside me and put a comforting hand on my trembling back.

"Rude told me everything." She said quietly, sounding very concerned and sympathetic. "About Hojo, the file, everything."

"Fan-fucking-tastic." I replied with a half-hearted voice. Can't I have just a shred of dignity?

"Reno, we're just worried. We want to help." Elena told me gently, rubbing my back slowly. "Rude called me last night, saying he was worried that you were going to either drink or bleed to death. We came over and found you passed out." She explained, but I was barely listening.

"Why'd he tell you about Hojo?" I mumbled quietly, wincing as my stomach had another short spasm. "He promised not to tell a soul."

"Would you rather him to be left to deal with pulling you back up every time you have a meltdown?"

"I'm fine, I don't need help." I half-whispered. Please, just a little independence here. I just wanted to deal with this alone. I didn't look at Elena, but I felt her frustrated glare.

"Oh, so you're perfectly fine with drinking yourself to death?"

"Maybe I am."

Elena fell silent before walking over to the sink. She picked up the cup on the counter and filled it with water, then walked back over to me. "Reno, you mean too much to Rude and I to let you be doing this to yourself." She knelt down beside me and took my hand, and made me hold the cup. "Now rinse out your mouth, and we'll get you back to bed."

I did what I was told and she slung one of my arms over her shoulders and helped me back into my room. I lay down on the bed and sighed. "You don't have to be doing all of this, y'know."

"Having to do something and wanting to are completely different things." She told me before handing me two painkillers and more water.

"Thanks…" I said before taking the pills and laying back again. Elena sat down on the bed.

"Let me take a look at that wound." She said quietly. "It's about time to change the bandages anyway."

I sat up slowly and shook my head, which made it feel even worse. "It's fine." I lied, trying to ignore the sting I felt on my chest. Elena sighed.

"Do we have to hold you down?" She asked, looking completely serious. I raised an eyebrow.

"We? Is Rude still here?" Elena nodded in response and called him in. I cringed and slumped back down. "Don't yell, headache." I groaned. She looked apologetic before turning to the door, where Rude had appeared. The larger man looked worried, like the day before, but to a much higher degree. I could see his concern clearly, even though his sunglasses were covering his eyes. He walked over to the other side of the bed from Elena.

"How are you feeling?" he asked. I forced a shrug.

"Like I got slashed across the chest with a rake and bludgeoned with a baseball bat. Then punched in the stomach for good measure." I saw a light smile on his face and he shook his head. He and Elena exchanged looks and I snorted. "As much as you guys want me to take my shirt off," I forced a light smile. "It's not happening."

Rude sighed. "We just want to make sure your injury isn't getting worse. Don't make it difficult." As I gave him a negative look, he looked a little defeated. "You can trust us, Reno."

"We want to help you." Elena added with a nod. I folded my arms over my chest, but winced as I put pressure on my wounds. Rolling her eyes, Elena reached over to the beside table and picked up a roll of bandages.

"Guys, I appreciate it, but it's fine." I insisted while sitting up.

"No, it's not. Now hold still or I'll have Rude hold you down." Elena told me. I snorted.

"Rude holding me down on my back would just give you a nosebleed." Elena didn't seem to like that comment, and Rude certainly didn't either. My fellow Turks shook their heads, sighing. They both then advanced, Rude gripping my shoulders to hold me still, and Elena lifting up my shirt. I squirmed, trying to get away from them.

"I can set you on fire by just looking at you!" I growled, starting to get angry. Elena started to remove the bandages, which were caked in my strange blood. I was still bleeding a little, but that could have just been from my struggling. Elena sat on my legs so I wouldn't kick.

"But you wont." Rude said quietly, holding me by my arms now, his grip strong, but careful not to hurt me. I looked up at him, since he was behind me. My face softened, because I knew he was right. By now Elena had a fresh bunch of bandages over my injury, and was now taping them down. I still struggled a little, but I was starting to give up. After knowing I was some sort of specimen for some scientist's experiments, I didn't like other people touching me. I was even having trouble with trusting my best friends, I felt so paranoid about being used again. I didn't want to be used, I wasn't an object, but I was starting to feel like one.

Elena sat back, still on my legs, and gently pushed on the tape to make sure it stuck to me. "There, you're done." I sighed and relaxed against Rude, who was still behind me. The pain that had numbed during my struggles came back to me suddenly, and I winced a little. Elena let my shirt fall back over me and smiled lightly. "You okay?"

"Lacking dignity, blood, and hung over like nothing else, but I'm fine." I sighed again. Rude's hands squeezed my shoulders lightly.

"We're doing this because we care, Reno."

I nodded weakly, still leaning back against him. "Yeah… thanks."

"Anything we can do?" Elena asked, sliding off my legs and the bed. She stood up beside the bed, still looking at me. I looked at her with an innocent smile. "Before you ask, we cleared your liquor cabinet and moved it to Rude's apartment. There's not a drop of alcohol here." she told me, looking very stern. I groaned.

"Please…"

"We can't let you do this to yourself, Reno." Rude said quietly. "You're going to end up killing yourself ."

I wished I could just drink myself to sleep again. Just escape from reality. I felt Rude move from behind me and help me slowly lay down on the bed again. "You should get some sleep now. We'll stay here and make sure you're okay."

"You don't have to…"

"Yes, we do." Elena leaned over and lay a hand on my forehead. "We'll help you through this." she told me softly before removing her hand and straightening up. "Now sleep."

My friends walked towards the door and I sat up a little. "Yo." They both turned around to look at me. I smiled, but it was sincere this time. "Thanks, guys. Means a lot."

They both smiled and nodded before walking out, closing the door behind them. I lay back down and pulled the covers over myself, thanking the Planet for the one good thing I had in my life. Actually, the two good things I had in my life.

* * *

Hope you guys liked it. Yeah, I know, more emotional sappy stuff. It'll get better (hopefully) 

Reviews! Dude, one day and SO many! I love you all!

Nando the RPS King: I update so fast because of faithful reviewers like you! Thanks for yet another kind review!

Lucifiel: Whoo! Vincent/Reno! Maybe not this time, but perhaps I might add some subtle implications later on. Although I've never seen anything on that pairing, it would be one of my favourites. Thanks for the review!

Orphen27: Don't worry about not reviewing, it's all good. I'm glad you liked it though. Here's another chapter ahead of schedual, I hope you like this one too. Thanks!

TruebornChaos: Yeah, but if I were Reno, I'd be worrying alot too. Poor guy, I'm so awful to him... And I don't think he'd ask Hojo to put more materia in him, or even go near him willingly again. Thanks for the reviews!

Thymine: Yay! I feel so special! I'm glad you liked it, thanks!

Dav J: I'm glad you liked the fight scene. I'll definatly check out your fic, look out for a review from me int he future!

Delta VT: Thanks! Everyone seems to liek that scene. I was so worried it would be boring. I agree, Reno is awesome! Thanks for the review!

Delusion48: Wow, that review made me feel really great about that chapter. I did put a lot of effort into the emotions and interaction, thank you! And you have another chapter now! Hope you like it. Thanks!


	10. Deja vu

Yes, another chapter for you all. I must give apologies for not staying on schedual with this, some chapters come the day after the last, some come a week later. I just write when I'm in the mood. I have doubts about this one, however, it's not that great, in my opinion. I tried, and had to cram in a lot of things at once. I apologise, too much drama in the old social life is bringing me down. Hope you enjoy, anyway.

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Square.

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I tore through the files like a scavenging animal as I searched in haste. In my current situation, being caught rummaging through old confidential files would not to be my benefit. However, I needed to find what I was looking for. I needed to find this one thing out before it drove me insane. I pulled folders out, flipped through, briefly looked at the picture in each one, then crammed them back into the filing cabinet. As I searched through these files, it dawned on me how many people there were on record in here, and it was only old Turk files. 

I swore under my breath when my still-injured chest stung again from the strain and rush I was putting on it. I tried to ignore it, and kept searching. Finding nothing in this drawer, I growled and shut it violently before turning my attention to the drawer below it. Hopefully nobody would come down and notice the abused folders that were uncaringly stuffed back into the cabinet. Halfway through the new drawer, I pulled out one file labelled "Valentine, Vincent" I opened it and flipped to the picture, and my heart jumped and sank in the same two seconds. The red eyes of the dark, caped man looked up at me, looking much more human, and full of pride and seriousness. His hair was considerably shorter, and he donned the same dark blue suit I did. I stared at the file for a full minute.

So, he really was a Turk.

I looked around out of paranoia and closed the file. I knelt down and threw it into my briefcase, wondering if I really should be stealing the documents. When I stood up again, Karma hit me on the head in the form of a metal filing cabinet drawer. I swore loudly and brought my hands to the top of my head. In my momentary fit of pain and dwindling temper, it was fortunate the cabinet did not catch fire. I growled several angry words and made another attempt to stand up, this time careful not to hurt myself again. I threw the drawer shut and picked up my briefcase. Stupid drawer. Stupid everything.

I made my way out of the basement floor of the ShinRa building and had to sneak around as I did, not wanting to raise suspicion. I walked to the elevators and slammed my palm against the lift call button. I then sighed and reached up to my head, where I felt a little but of blood drying in my hair. Great, can't I go a few days without spilling my strange blood?

As I got to the right floor, I immediately walked to my office, which was still empty. I found a tint of amusement in that I had arrived earlier than Rude for once, as I flicked on the lights. Before I could take two steps into the room, a wave of dizziness swept through me. I stopped in my tracks and dropped my briefcase. The room swirled around me, and colours became distorted and bright. I tried to walk foreword again, but I stumbled in my uneasiness and fell to the floor. I tried to push myself up, but my body gave up on me. My muscles felt like mush as I slumped onto my side. Through the blurriness and dark that was coming over my vision, I saw the shoes of a man walking towards me. Slowly, calmly, he stopped as I lay at his feet. I saw a flicker of his long white coat before I slipped out of consciousness.

"Reno!" the voice was distant, it sounded miles away, but it was urgent, pleading. I was motionless and thoughtless for a moment, consciousness melting into me slowly.

"Reno!" the voice was familiar, but masked with a desperate tone. I stirred a little, my eyelids tightening and my lips parting slowly as I sucked in a breath of cold air.

"That's it, buddy. Come back to me!"

I let out a low groan, attempting to open my eyelids. They were so heavy; it was hard to do so. Every inch of me ached, and I felt a dreadful familiarity toward that feeling. The dread formed into a cold pit un my stomach.

"God…" I said softly before forcing my eyelids open. My vision stood in a frustrating blur for a moment before everything melted into place. I saw Rude standing over me, looking pale beyond belief. I blinked up at him several times, both confused and grateful.

"Reno, are you okay?" my friend asked while helping me sit up. I looked around and felt my blood run cold upon seeing our surroundings.

"Oh Lord, please…" I choked, pulling my heavy-feeling arms up and burying my face in my shaking hands. "Tell me I'm dreaming. Please."

Not the lab, anything but back in the lab. I felt my body shuddering violently. I prayed for it to be a sick joke.

"Reno, c'mon, let's get you out of here." Rude said quietly, turning me around on the lab table I had been laying on. My legs dangled over the edge of the table, and I sat there for a moment, frozen in a calm trance. I lowered my hands and looked at Rude, who's hand was on my shoulder. It was then I noticed he was bleeding. Bleeding crimson, the human colour. I shuddered again at seeing it, but had to inquire.

"What happened?" I asked, my voice cracked from suppressed sobs. Rude looked at his cut and bloody hands and forearms silently. He didn't respond, as if it had just dawned on him now that he was injured. "Rude…?"

I saw him gesture silently to behind me. I looked around slowly, careful not to make myself dizzy. I sucked in a quick breath of shock, a small gasp of surprise. I stared at the large glass object, a cylindrical and clear container that reached from ceiling to floor, about six feet in diameter. The front of it was broken, the shards littering the floor, accompanied by droplets of red blood.

"You were out cold inside…" Rude told me, his voice so quiet I could barely hear him. "I think Hojo was planning to keep you here for a long time…"

I started shaking violently again. He had broken my glass prison and saved me. I felt his hand grab my arm gently and guide me off the table. He turned me around so I wasn't looking at my would-be cage.

"Rude, you're bleeding really badly." I said, eyes now locked on one of his injured fists. He was cut and bleeding through his suit sleeve, even. I didn't want him getting hurt for my sake, it wasn't right. "You shouldn't have done that." He dismissed that with a snort and started helping me walk. I silently insisted on walking on my own, but like last time, he had to catch me as I fell.

"Let me help you, Reno."

I sighed and let him help me walk all the way back to the office. We decided that from there we would figure out what we were going to do. At the moment, I just needed to get out of that lab and rest. I sat back in the leather couch that sat in the corner of our office. I was grateful to be sitting, my energy was down to almost nothing. I ended up laying down after a minute, feeling a horrible sense of déjà vu.

"Are you okay?" Rude asked.

"Fine." I lied. I sat up slowly and pointed at my desk. "Can you get me my briefcase? I gotta show you something."

Rude reluctantly left my side for a moment to fetch my case, which he handed to me slowly. I opened it and pulled out the file I had stolen, and let by briefcase slide to the floor. I flipped to the paper with the picture of the man named Vincent, and showed it to Rude. He looked pretty shocked.

"He's in Avalanche!"

I nodded and had to force myself to keep sitting up, despite my exhaustion. "He told me he used to be a Turk." My face and voice then went solemn, to match the feeling within me. "And that Hojo had got to him."

Rude, understandably, looked unsure under his surprise. "But he can't be thirty! And I've never even heard of him."

I checked the date on the file, that was on his profile. I pointed out that he had been recruited a few decades ago. We exchanged curious and unsure looks before Tseng's voice cut into our conversation.

"What is going on?" I quickly stuffed the folder under the couch cushion, thankful that Rude's large figure had been blocking Tseng from seeing this. We both then turned to our leader, and I felt a chill from the look on his face. He looked almost angry as he stepped into the office and towards us. "Rude, why did you- How did- Ugh!" he looked so frustrated he was at a loss for words. He looked my friend with intense, cold eyes. "Why did you bring him here?" Rude was speechless, as was I, but I was first to find faith in my voice.

"You know about this?" I hissed, forcing myself to stand up. I felt rage boiling inside me as I glared at my boss. "You're letting him do this?" I felt that dizzy, hot feeling inside me, and a florescent light above started sparking wildly. Rude quickly sat me sat and tried to calm me. Tseng didn't't look more than a little shocked.

"I am under strict orders not to interfere with Hojo's actions." He said calmly. "And so are you." He growled at Rude. I started to get up again.

"How dare you!" If he was any other man than my boss, I would have immediately set him on fire. Rude sat me down again.

"Rude, take him back." Tseng ordered without even looking at me. "Hojo is not done with his-"

"Say specimen, and you better start running!" I spat my threat angrily, shaking so violently it almost hurt. Tseng still didn't look at me, like he was afraid to.

"Just take him back…"

"Sir!"

We all looked to Elena, who practically ran into the room and over to me. She told me to calm down in a quiet, gentle voice, which actually was quite effective, and sat me back against the couch. She then looked to Tseng.

"I can't believe you, Tseng!" She snapped, taking all three of us men by surprise. "How dare you treat one of your Turks like this? He's your best friend, don't you have any respect for him?"

Rude and I had low-hanging jaws as we watched her for a shocked, silent moment. Elena yelling at Tseng? Since when did this happen? Did I miss that memo? Tseng looked no less taken back by her outburst. His eyes were widened and he was once again at a loss for words for a moment.

"Elena…" he finally managed to say. "It's Rufus' orders-"

"Does it look like I care about what Rufus says?" Elena hissed before turning back to me and sitting beside me on the couch. I could see pained tears in her eyes, and it tore through my heart like it was paper.

"Elena!" Tseng barked after he gained his composure back. "He's going back to the lab, and you two are taking him there. Now."

Elena and Rude looked up at him silently, both looking angrier than I had seem either of them before. There was a silence that followed, which seemed to last forever. The tension in the room was so thick you could cut it in half with a knife. The yelling had worsened the headache I had, and my heart was pumping so fast it felt unnatural. Tseng eventually sighed and crossed his arms, looking defeated.

"Take him home, I will deal with Rufus." He said quietly before turning and walking to the door. "But don't expect this to just blow over." He told us before disappearing into the hallway.

It wasn't long after he left that Elena burst into tears.

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Hope you liked it! I tried to add a subtle hint of comic relief in the beginning, but failed. Some characters may seem a little OOC, especially Elena, but in her case, I meant for her to totally freak out on Tseng. Hope you liked it, I promise it'll be better next chapter. 

Reviews! You guys are too good to me.

Nando the RPS King: Thank you so much! Yes, sappy seems to be a reacurring theme here, eh? -sigh- I'm trying to cut back on all the mushy stuff in the fics in the future. And one day Reno will get his revenge... hopefully. Thanks again!

Lucifiel: Thanks! I'm glad you think that, sorry if it's getting boring or too emotional or anything. And Yes, shirtless Reno... -drool-

Orphen27: -gasp- I could NEVER forget about Elena! -hugs Elena plushie- And thanks for the sweet review, I'm glad you appreciate my quick update.

Thymine: Wow, thanks! I didn't think the interactions were that good. Now I feel all warm and fuzzy inside. But, I promise a bit more action soon, before this story starts to bore people (if it hasn't already) Thanks again!

TruebornChaos: I'm glad you liked it. But I promise less sap later on, Reno is completely Emo after all XD He'll do some ass-kicking soon, I hope. Thanks for the review!

Delusion48: Thank you! I love showing the Turks interacting as really good friends, I think it's cute (even if they are all bad-ass and tough) And you are too kind to me, your review was lovely. Thank you so much.

Cueball: Sorry, I meant to have the interaction with Vincent longer, but for some reason, I couldn't pull it off. However, I promise they will meet again in future chapters! Anyway, wasn't Advent Children awesome? I think Reno and Rude stole the show, they were just so funny. Thanks for the nice review!

DeafLizgon: Yes, Reno and Vincent will meet again, but maybe not for a while, sorry. And Hojo is stupid, I say we kill him! Well, I can... because I have the power! AUTHOR POWER! -evil laugh- ...-cough- sorry... anywhoo, thanks for the review!


	11. Bad Guy

I'm a slacker! Gah, my sincere apologies, I didn't mean to be so late with this chapter. Once again, very emotional, please bare with the pathetic-ness. All part of Reno's personal transformation, people!

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Square

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I trudged through the filthy streets of Midgar, avoiding the people in the mass crowd around me, who, upon seeing my blue suit, did likewise. Perhaps I should have looked a little more proud, a bit more dignified and confident, but at he moment, I didn't care. I had my head hung low, hands stuffed in my pockets, and my eyes locked on the cement in front of me. Just like always, questions echoed in my mind, a broken record of inquiries that never seemed to end. 

Two days since Rude had more or less rescued me from the lab. Our jobs were at stake, and perhaps even my life. I had pretty much gone into hiding, staying at Elena's home one night, Rude's another, anything to avoid Tseng contacting me. I had not gone to work since the incident with my fellow Turks, mainly because I wasn't up to dealing with Rufus right now. Knowing him, he'd either send me back to the lab or order my friends to 'get rid of me'. I guess I was being a coward, but I'd rather have my life than my job right now.

Or maybe I don't want either.

I had used the last of the previous month's paycheque to buy the strongest alcohol I could find. Halfway through the first bottle, Rude found me. I had been hit with guilt like a brick wall, but I wasn't going to back down. We began a screaming match that reminded me of my adolescence, some hurtful words were exchanged from both parties. I could see the pain in Rude's eyes, and if I had been perfectly sober, I wouldn't have broken down. My knees had given out from under me, and I more or less collapsed onto the floor.

There was a moment of silence, save my painful sobs, before he picked me up off the floor gently. He knew I didn't want to be there. I didn't want to be in hiding, I didn't want to be in Midgar. Perhaps he even knew that I didn't want to be alive.

I shook the memory out of my head as I walked through the slums, wishing I had drank enough that night that I couldn't remember. I had to clear my head, while staying sober.

I stopped at what would be the border between Sector 6 and Sector 7. I stared at the massive, collapsed plate in front of me. It was a wreck, to say the least. Scrap metal, wood, and other junk created a wall of destruction, which had an air of death to it. How many people had died in that planned destruction of the pillar? The pillar that I had set the bomb to? I closed my eyes and sighed. So much death, so much blood. It was all on my hands. I felt, for the first time, intense guilt for dropping that plate. Turning away from the aftermath of the destruction, I quickly walked away.

How many people had I taken away from the world? Husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, brothers, daughters? I gave a groan and brought a hand up to grip my crimson hair, tugging on it.

How many children?

"Ah… fuck." I whimpered, stepping through the playground, which was in ruins. I stopped at the large dome-shaped slide, the image of a cartoon animal molded from it. A metal beam was stuck through the top of it, impaling it right through. It seemed as if it was a sick mockery of the young lives I had destroyed. I stopped beside it and looked it over, biting my lip. I saw some graffiti along the side of it. Some names, some street slang, and a small heart with two initials within it. I shook my head violently and was about to walk away, but I stopped. What was that sound? Crying? I looked around briefly before seeing a large gaping hole in the side of the dome slide. I walked around to it and lowered myself so I could peer in. I saw a small figure curled up in the back of the dome, shuddering with sobs. My heart wrenched at the sight.

"Hey… kid." I said softly, watching the child lift her head. Her wet, bright blue eyes shone in the light spilling into the dome from the hole. The girl couldn't be more than five. She looked at me before her face overflowed with fear. She squeezed back against the plastic dome wall as far as she could, emitting a fearful squeak as she did. I sighed a little. "I'm not gonna hurt you." I attempted to reassure her. She just folded her arms over her knees and buried her face in them.

"Go away!" she whimpered, voice cracked. My guess was she recognised the blue suit.

"I'm not here to hurt you or anything." I repeated softly, feeling a sting in my heart when she lifted her head, large, sad eyes narrowing a little.

"No! You're a bad man!" she said accusingly, forcing herself against the wall even more. I could see the fear and hatred in her eyes. She was so young, and so angry. "You killed my daddy!"

For a moment, I forgot how to breathe, and my heart ceased to beat. I was silent for a long time before I sat just outside the entrance to the plastic cave.

"What was your dad's name?" I asked as gently as I could with such a heavy lump in my throat. I peered into the dome.

"J-James…" she stuttered. I could see her trembling. "…Naroll."

The internal reaction I had a minute earlier was nothing compared to this. I felt a physical pain inside my chest, and my eyes were stinging with hot moisture. I leaned against the plastic dome, trying to collect myself. I heard more sobbing inside.

"I'm sorry…" I said quietly, sparking more sobs. "But I had to." I didn't know why I was justifying myself to a child, or even justifying myself period. I was guilty, and I knew it all too well.

"My daddy was a hero." The girl's voice was full of hatred, but tinted with pride. "He was trying to save us from a bad man. Badder than you."

"I know." I choked. The sight of the man's blood splattered on the white walls came back to me, and I felt tears spill down my face. "He didn't deserve what happened to him." In my eyes, James Naroll had gone from a pitiful angry citizen to a noble hero in a matter of seconds. Part of me wished he could have taken out Rufus, and saved the world so much trouble. I suddenly found a new respect for Avalanche. "Your dad was a hero…"

There was light shuffling before the girl's head poked out from the entrance. She looked sceptical of my words. I sighed and turned so my back was against the slide, trying to be subtle in wiping my tears away with my sleeve.

"Mister Turk?" Such an innocent girl… how would I ever live with myself knowing I had taken away her father? I always knew our victims had families, but never seen them. Perhaps seeing for myself, the lives I had broken, it hits with so much force.

"You should get home, kid." I said quietly. "The streets around here aren't safe, and being seen with me wont do you much good, anyway." I looked at her, and she blinked at me, our eyes still full of tears. The child stood after crawling out of the dome. She then stepped back a bit, almost afraid to turn her back on me. I hung my head, eyes on the ground. "Don't worry, I'm done with being the bad guy."

I heard the light footsteps of her running off, and I sat there in silence for a good five minutes. What kind of monster was I? So much blood on my hands, so many lives I had broken…

"Maybe I deserve this." I mumbled, looking at the back of my hand. The usual blue and purple lines of veins were darker with my discoloured black blood. Karma was a swift, harsh thing, after all. I was snapped out of my train of thought when my cell phone started ringing. I blinked several times and took it out of my pocket. I cleared my throat before answering it. Holding it up to my ear, I barely managed the word "Hello."

"Reno!" Tseng's voice was urgent, almost panicked. That was certainly out of the ordinary, the Turk leader was usually so composed and calm. However, I felt anger swell in me.

"What the hell do you want?" I snapped, feeling the rage and betrayal that I felt two days ago. He had some nerve calling me. I didn't care if he was my boss, or my friend. He let Hojo turn me into… this.

"Reno, you have to listen to me." He said, seemingly unaffected by my harsh reply. "You need to drop this cell phone and get out of there. Rufus is tracking you."

I sat there in shock for a moment before managing to get myself to stand. On shaky legs, I looked around in a paranoid manner, breathing getting heavier with panic. "What do you mean, he's tracking me?"

"Reno, just go! Drop the phone in a sewer and run!"

I barely heard his words as several ShinRa Soldiers ambushed me. They seemingly came out of nowhere, one big blur that melted in with my dizzy surroundings. They leaped at me and took me down, my cell phone flying out of my hand and shattering into pieces against the ground. I screamed as they pinned me on my stomach and gave a couple of my attackers nasty shocks with my implanted lightning materia. They managed to hold me down long enough to push a needle into my shoulder. As the foreign liquid was pumped into my body, I panicked. I cast an fire attack on the injection-wielder and got him to retract the needle, but not before it was all in me. I felt weak all over, and I tried to cast another attack, but somehow I couldn't. I forced myself to flip onto my back and I sent the last soldier flying off of me with a violent kick in the ribs. As I tried to scramble away, exhaustion hit me suddenly, and I collapsed on the ground.

God fucking damn it.

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Yes, I know, I'm a monster! I hope you liked it anyways. I'll try to update sooner next time, I feel so bad for slacking. Lots of drama in the personal life, but I'm working on fixing that. 

Reviews! You people are too good to me!

Nando the RPS King: Ohh, don't you worry, the deserving people will get thier share of bad Karma -evil laugh- -cough- eer... thanks for the review, you're always so kind. Although there wasn't too much going on in this chapter, I hope you liked it anyways. Thanks again.

Lucifiel: I know, I'm horrible to Reno Y.Y I feel awful. But I hope it makes for a good story anyways. Thanks for the review!

DeafLizgon: -takes Hojo Voodoo Doll- RAWR! -stabs, rips, burns and stomps doll- DIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIE! -deep breath- ok, I'm good... calm... whooo... anyways, yes, much shock even for me when it came to Elena freaking out on Tseng. XD Thanks for the review!

Delta VT: Yeah, it's kind of a given that Tseng would know. And Yes for Elena fighting back! I love her so X3 Thanks for the review!

TruebornChaos: Emotional parts come plentiful in this fanfiction! Bah, so emo! But I love writing this, and knowing that you like it makes it so much more wirth it! Thanks for the review!

Thymine: Not much consequences this chapter, but the next one is gonna be interesting, I can promise that! Yeah... poor Reno, I'm so cruel! Hehe, thanks for the review!

Manders1953: Inhumane, cruel, monsterous, awful, use whatever term you like ;) Rufus is evil, but we lurve him anyways! -huggles Rufus and gets shot- X.x thanks for the review!

Dav J: Aww, not Tseng and Rufus! Y.Y I love them! But yeah... it's not like they don't deserve it. But evilness is part of what makes them so smexy XD But...that's just me. And please NOT TEH JELLYFISH! I'm so scared of fish, they're so scary and freaky -curls up int he corner- I'll be a good writer and update... XD anywhoo, thanks!

Delusion48: Wow! Once again,you are too kind! And I try to update as often as I can, and I hope you still like it. Your reviews are so encouraging, and I love them! Thank you so much!

Orphen27: Aww, thank you for another nice review. I'm glad you're liking this story so much!

Flying Bronco: Well, I wish a very Happy (Belated) Birthday to you! Consider those many chapters a birthday presant! Hope you continue to enjoy this story! Thank you!

WrexSoul: Another kind review! Wow, I love you! I'm glad you're enjoying this fanfic so much, you keep spilling the compliments, I feel so special. And don't be too worried (why am I saying this after the end of THIS chapter? XD) Tseng seems to redeem himself in a way this time, but he's still a bad, BAD Turk! X3 I don't even know if the Turks will ever be the same... I'm so evil. Well, thanks for another nice review!


	12. Betrayed

Another chapter for you! Just was a warning, this extremely sad. Extremely. Like I shed a couple tears while writing one part. That's probably just me, but meh. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Square

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Breathing heavily, I took a few steps back, eyes locked on the door in front of me. I set my foot for a second before lunging and throwing myself against it, letting out a scream to put forth more of my strength. I shouldered the cold, unforgiving steel of the door, and slumped down wincing. It didn't work, just like the past six times I had tried. I focused my mind again on using some sort of magic, but it still seemed to fail me. It had failed me since those Soldiers had injected me when I was ambushed, so I was powerless. I looked around the stark white room in which I was imprisoned, and shivered. I was in one of the interrogation rooms – The Pit. 

How many times had I waltzed down here, ego about the size of the Eastern Continent, and taunted prisoners and killing them? I forced myself up, holding my shoulder and still wincing. It must have been broken by now, I had shouldered the door so harshly so many times that severe damage was inevitable. Overcome with panic, I started almost clawing at the door.

"Rude!" I yelled, voice cracked. "Elena! Tseng! Fucking hell, ANYONE!" I screamed, shouldering the door again and letting out a yelp. Yep, it was broken. I felt my breath get heavier and faster as panic took over. I was dead. As good as fucking dead. I tried to slow my heaving chest as hyperventilation started, and my throat started swelling at the same time. It was from the panicked sobs I was holding back. I growled and hit my head off the door.

"Pull it together!" I yelled at myself. "Be a man!"

But I wasn't a man, I was a scared goldfish in a sea of sharks. A mouse in a room of cats – or maybe more accurate would be a rat, a Lab Rat. I couldn't even call myself human anyway. I bled more than one colour, and none of it was close to red. I trembled all over and pounded on the door with my fists. "For fuck's sake, let me out!" I yelled, knowing there was someone in the other side of the door. They always had at least a guard… or the cleanup crew waiting.

I whimpered and dragged my bruised and weak body to the corner where I had woken up. I sat down and buried my face in my folded arms, much like how the little girl had been sitting. I wondered if she was alright, if she had been hurt at all. Perhaps all this was one of Karma's sick, twisted ways of showing how much evil I had done. So much murder, lies, hurt, sin… so much evil.

I may have turned a blind eye to all the bad I had done, but it all caught up to me. If I had been killed in Karma's act, it would have been better. But perhaps I was indeed an agent of evil, and this was what I deserved.

Biting my bottom lip, I forced myself to lift my head and open my eyes. I glanced at the wall beside me and choked on air. I saw faint, reddish-brown stains – partially cleaned blood. Splattered on the wall, barely noticeable from a distance, but so intensely clear up close. Spots and splashes, morbid decorations to show my handiwork. I gave a sound like a wounded animal and shut my eyes tightly. I was biting my bottom lip so hard that it drew blood. The mostly-black substance didn't even taste like blood. It was nauseatingly sour, and I ended up spitting it in disgust. It splattered on the wall, amongst the other, lighter stains. I shivered at the sight. Another addition to the wall of needless bloodshed. What I thought was clean, was filthy and bloody upon closer inspection.

I thought of my own life being the same way. Cocky, egotistical Reno, strutting the streets like he owned them. Good friends, good job, good times. But under the surface lies a dark presence, a soul with bloody hands and a smoking gun. In my panic, fear, and anger, I felt hysteria set in, and I started chuckling lightly. I then started crying suddenly, which soon cut into full-out laughter. I cried, laughed, cried, then both at the same time.

"I'm gonna die." I said out loud, looking up at the ceiling like I was talking to some unseen superior presence. I had never been religious, but now seemed like a good time to try to communicate with the Gods, if there were any. "You proved your point, buddy." I said, the giddy laughter setting in. "You won, just get my slow painful death over with." I then melted into a sobbing mess and curled up on the floor, hugging my knees. I suddenly thought of my own family. My mother I never called, my little sister I always fought with. My dad who had left us when I was young, and my step-dad who kicked my ass every time I even looked at him. Although I had held grudges for years, it all melted away into regret. Regret in never telling them how much they meant to me, and what effect they had in making me the man I was. I didn't care if they were proud of me or not, that didn't matter.

I guess that's how James felt before I splattered his blood against the wall.

I heard several clicks at the door and stood up slowly before wiping my face with my sleeve. I couldn't let them see me like this, never. Expecting some huge Soldiers to file in, I was surprised to see Elena and Rude burst through the door and run over to me. Elena threw her arms around me and buried my face in my chest, which almost knocked me back against the wall. I felt her shaking.

"Oh, Reno! I'm so glad you're okay!" she sobbed, squeezing me tighter and cutting off my air. Rude smiled a little and half-pried her off of me, but his face soon turned serious.

"We gotta get you outta here, c'mon." he helped me stand properly and we started towards the door. Halfway to the doorway to freedom, we were frozen in our tracks when the president appeared. He looked angry for a moment, but it faded into a slight smirk. If I could have, I would have cast every spell on him I possessed within my body.

"Now, you two know Hojo still needs his specimen…" he said in an almost casual tone, ignoring me as my fellow Turks had to start holding me down to keep from ripping his face off.

"Specimen!" I spat. "Say that again, and they'll be picking up pieces of you for a week!" I was snarling, like a provoked animal. Rufus looked nothing less than amused.

"I am not a man who gets in the way of science. Elena, Rude, take him to the lab." As he said that, Tseng edged past him into the room and knelt beside me, helping the others in calming me down. Everything was a blur, a distorted, angry mess. I was so enraged that I could feel my heart thumping in my head.

"Sir," Tseng said, trying to sound respectful. "Please, this has gone too far. I can't allow this to continue." Hearing the Turk leader speak like an inferior sounded so strange, since he was such a strong, stern boss. Rufus only laughed, a cold, hollow laugh that seemed to bounce off the walls of my ears. It was almost metallic, and made me feel frozen to the bone.

"But I can, Tseng." He half-sneered, smirking again. I eventually gave up and slumped to the floor. Elena ran a hand through my hair soothingly, making an effort not to look at the president.

"We aren't going to take you there, Reno." She promised quietly. "He can't do anything to force us." Her voice was full of hope, as false as it was.

"Oh, how wrong, you are, Elena." Rufus smirked again and pulled a small radio out of the inner pocket of his trenchcoat. He put the device close to his mouth. "Let them talk." He ordered sharply. My heart sank, and I could tell everyone else in the room was feeling the exact same way. Soon there was some static on the radio, and a woman's voice was heard. It was panicked, and sounding so full of fear it hurt me inside.

"Let us go, you bastards!" she sounded older, and like she was trying to be strong, but the fear almost drowned it out. Rude sucked in a short breath and stood, shaking.

"…Mom?"

I felt my heart twist painfully at that, and I started choking on nothing. The pain that coated his voice with that one word almost killed me. His voice was soft, unbelieving, but at the same time, agonisingly aware of the truth. Elena made a small sound in her throat as real words failed her. Another voice came. It was a male, about our age, and sounding just as afraid.

"What's going on, what did we do?"

"Ken!" the blonde screamed, standing up. Tseng stood quickly and took a hold of her gently, but strong enough to hold her back from doing something drastic. Ken was Elena's older brother, and one of her best friends in the world. She was hysterical now, shaking violently and sobbing in Tseng's shoulder. Our Turk leader glared at Rufus.

"I've never seen this company stoop so low, Rufus." He snarled, still holding Elena. Rufus didn't seemed affected by that.

"Don't think that you've been left out, Tseng." He said, a sweet smile gracing his lips. "Wutai would be disappointed to know that one of their own caused the death of his family." He flipped a hand and examined his nails in a vain, bored manner. "There are ShinRa spies there, waiting for my call to strike." I heard a wordless growl form Tseng. "That would be too bad, your sister is awfully sweet. Beautiful, too. I'd hate for something bad to happen to her."

I stood up slowly, lips curled and eyes narrowed. "You're a bastard!" I hissed, struggling to stay standing. I was the only one who wasn't numb with shock. "A cold, heartless bastard!"

"Sticks and stones, my friend." Rufus laughed lightly. "Now, will you be good Turks and take the specimen down without question?"

"You son of a-"

"They don't think we're serious." Rufus cut me off, talking onto the radio in a morbidly amused manner. We heard more static, then a gunshot. Two screams could be heard, and Rude and Elena choked.

"You monster!" Rude's mother screamed. We heard Ken curse loudly about his leg, and whatever colour my face still had faded completely. Elena lost all fight and slumped in Tseng's arms, a look in her eyes that showed they had broken her in.

"Rude?" Would you like a demonstration, too?" Rufus offered sweetly. A dull click could be heard, and Rude gasped.

"No, no! Please, don't hurt her!" he seemed to almost beg. He had caved too. I looked to Tseng, who had his head bowed in a defeated manner. I then looked at Rufus, who was giving me a smug look. I clenched my fists and glared.

"Well, then I think this is settled." Rufus smirked again. He turned and stepped out of the doorway. "Co-operate, and your loved ones go unharmed." He then disappeared. I stood there, shaking for a moment, until I felt a firm, but gentle grip on my arm.

"Rude, please…"

"I'm sorry…"

Elena pulled herself out of Tseng's arms and looked at me, with such apology in her eyes that I felt sick. Tseng looked at me in the same manner.

"Guys, we can find a way around this."

"No, Reno. They won." Tseng said softly, taking my other arm. I panicked and started to struggle. Not this. I'd rather die than to know my own friends would go against me. I didn't care if it was selfish to fight under these circumstances. I had a right to be safe, too. My fellow Turks all but dragged me out of the room and down the hallway. I struggled weakly, tears starting to spill down my face. Kill me, God, please end my life. I suddenly felt so cold inside, and I wanted to double over and throw up.

As we passed a closed door, Rude slowed when he heard screams that we all knew came from his mother. His grip loosened on my arm, and he started shaking again.

"Rude, no." Tseng said sharply, knowing he was contemplating taking the door down and killing all the guards inside. He could do it too, with the rage I could feel pulsating through him. Rude stared at the door for a moment before letting out a shaky breath and starting to walk again.

I struggled. For my very life, I struggled against my three fellow Turks. I begged them to let me go, and even swung a few kicks in my panic. However, they held me firm enough so I couldn't get away. As I started to give in, I felt a wave of energy flow in my pulse for a moment. It was small, but familiar in a bittersweet manner. The injection was wearing off. Filled with new hope, I struggled again. Rude gripped my arm tighter.

"Reno, I'm so sorry…" he said quietly, not daring to look at me. I was still for a moment before I pulled my hand to rest on his shoulder. I cursed, wishing it didn't have to come down to this.

"…So am I." I gave him a light, but stunning shock, and wrenched my arm from his grip. With all my strength I whirled and landed a punch to Tseng's face, sending him back. I heard Elena gasp as she tried to grab me, but I shook her off and pinned Rude against the wall while he was recovering.

"Here's what you're gonna do." I whispered, ignoring Tseng and Elena as they grabbed my arms. I could see the surprise and emotional agony in his eyes, through he dark lenses. "You're gonna let me go, and when I pass, I'll fry every guard in that room. Get your mother, and Ken, and get them the hell outta here." I turned my head to look at Tseng. A trickle of blood was coming from one corner of his mouth. "You call your family and tell them to leave Wutai, and get to Rocket Town by boat as soon as they can." Shock held an iron grip on all three of them for a moment before Tseng shook his head. I glared at him. "Consider this the opportunity to redeem yourself." I hissed before turning back to Rude, who was still locked in shock. "You worry about getting your family safe, because God knows Rufus isn't gonna let them go. I'll just flee Midgar. Go along with their plans to find me, but you wont." With that, I let go of Rude and started running down the hallway, slipping out of their grips. I was weak, tired, and hurt, but I ran for my life. My shoulder throbbed painfully, but I ignored it. As I passed the room where the hostages were, I concentrated. I sensed them, three guards in the room. I focused on their presence, and managed to take them down without even seeing them through the door. I heard screams from both hostages, but I kept running.

Out of some sort of Miracle, I made it out of the building in one piece. I saw ShinRa Soldiers, who seemed to be searching for me, and I managed to avoid them. I felt a renewed wave of energy rush through me, adrenaline pumping in my veins as I headed towards the train station. I stopped when I got there, seeing more guards on watch for me. Looking around frantically, I saw an open cargo car. I slipped in and ducked amongst a pile of crates and boxes, slumping against them and sitting. I felt my heart in my throat, and my lungs heaved with pained breaths.

But harshest of all of that, I felt hot tears spill down my face. My only goodbye was a shock, a punch, and a promise to never see them again. I looked up at the ceiling of the train car as the steel door slammed shut and left me in darkness.

"Forgive me, guys." I whispered into the seemingly eternal shadow around me. "I still love you."

* * *

I am a complete monster. Seriously, I feel bad for writing this. It's all part of the plot, though... God, I need help. 

Reviews! Booya, you guys rock!

Nando the RPS King: Thanks, your reviews are always so awesome. Adding Naroll's daughter was an idea that randomly came to me, I'm relieved people recognised his name. And yes, I tend to overdo the cliffhangers a little, but you seem to enjoy it X3 Thanks again!

Skrap: Yeah, sorry, I love leaving cliffhangers XD It gets people so worked up. Thanks for the review!

navi the rabid pixie: Thanks for both of your kind reviews! I'm glad you like the story so much!

DeafLizgon: uh... -sweatdrop- -hides Rufus- You're reeeaaalllyyy gonna hate him after this chapter. I'm even mad at him now, and I'm the author! You have to admit, though, he's so smexy X3 Speaking of smexy, Vincent will make another appearance soon! w00t w00t! Anywhoo, thanks for the wonderful review, and I hope you enjoy future chapters (without Rufus murder of course)

TruebornChaos: -helps in stomping on voodoo doll remains- DIE! X3 Something tells me your gonna whip out a Rufus voodoo doll next, hehe. Thanks for the review!


	13. Fugitive

GAH! I'm SOOOO sorry, guys! I feel awful! To keep it short - losta schoolwork, litsa other obligations that fill my life. I didn't forget about you guys, don't worry! I bring you another chapter (as late as it is) and I hope you enoy it!

Disclaimer: All the characters belong to Square.

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Slumping against a tree, I breathed heavily for a while, ears sharp to listen for any kind of movement around me. I prayed to whatever Gods there possibly were that the people would pass. Hearing their voices, I flattened my back against the trunk of the tree and held my breath.

"The Turk ran this way!" One man announced as I heard them stepping towards me. I knew they would be glad to get their hands on me. Not only was I an ever so hated Turk, but apparently there was a reward for my return to ShinRa.

I remembered when I had first seen the sign when I got off the boat in Costa de Sol. Stumbling out of the cargo bay, blinking against the harsh sun, I saw a small poster with my ShinRa ID picture on it, describing how I was a traitor and a fugitive. There was a generous gil reward for my capture. Since I had seen that, I had a cold pit in my stomach, and hadn't shown my face in public for days. Now I was in the jungle area around Gongaga, which I had heard was a moderately Anti-ShinRa town. Apparently, they wont some extra money and an opportunity to beat up a Turk for a while.

I had been turned away at the Inn until they remembered the reward, and now I was being chased. If I had any money on me, I would have bought some casual clothes, and maybe even hair dye. But what little cash I had on my pockets was used to feed myself.

Seeing no way to avoid their eyes, I looked upwards. Depending on my childhood skills as a juvenile delinquent, I scrambled up the tree, much like I had climbed Fire Exit ladders and junk piles in my youth. Clinging to vines and loose bark, I climbed the tree mostly with ease, and rest on a limb, sighing. My injured shoulder was burning and aching, but I ignored it. I peered down below, watching the group of men look around, confused. I felt a wave of relief as I watched them shrug and keep going. I was safe. For now.

Taking a few minutes to rest, I sat on the thick branch, and leaned my back against the trunk. My once beloved Turk uniform was ripped, damp, and filthy. I had literally slept on the dirt ground the past few days, having avoided the inns. Not so much sleep as lay down in exhaustion, staring at the star studded skies for hours. I had started to appreciate the little things like the stars, which were never seen in the polluted city of Midgar. I looked around with new eyes, perhaps being under the impression that my days were numbered. That made me seem much more grateful for the planet and the idea of life. Perhaps these sorts of epiphanies occur when you know that your life is too short to live in ignorance.

Once the voices and footsteps had faded completely, I slowly climbed out of the tree, only to end up falling and landing loosely on my feet. I winced and held my burning chest, which was in absolute agony from the heavy breathing of panic and from running so much, and also the cuts it still had from the incident in Mount Nibel. I slowly unbuttoned my shirt and looked at the disgusting black scabs and wrinkled my nose. It had to have been infected by now, I hadn't changed the bandages in about a week. Small trickles of blood seeped out here and there from the recent strain of running, but it wasn't anything new to me.

Looking up at the darkening sky, hiding behind a thick blanket of treetops, I sighed again. Forcing my sore, throbbing feet to move, I went deeper into the jungle to find a moderately warm and safe place to sleep. Naturally, I found no such thing, and I had to do with a small clearing in the jungle, where I gathered some dry bits of wood and started a small fire to keep myself warm overnight. I lay down, curled up beside the small fire, and sighed again lightly as I stared into the flames. I couldn't help but smile a little when I recollected the time, months ago, when Rude and I were stuck outside in the forest, after finding out the closest Inn had no vacancy. We bought a small tent and decided to camp outside. Of course, knowing us, we decided that about a ton of wood, and a nice Fire3 would be adequate to light a small camp fire. I remembered us walking back into the office from the mission a few days later, completely lacking eyebrows and the fronts of our suits singed. Tseng didn't say anything, simply shook his head and walked away.

I chuckled lightly for a moment, but was silent again upon knowing the good times like that were long gone, and I would probably never see them again. I blinked the excess moisture out of my eyes and kept them closed for a while. I wondered how my friends were holding out. I had always prided myself with being the one to lighten up the mood when times were down, but now I was the cause of the trouble. I hoped that their families were alright, especially Rude's mother. She was tough, which I learned after a few meetings over the holidays, but she had fallen ill recently. The helplessness and inner agony of Rude's voice when he had learned his mother had been taking hostage just killed me. He was such a strong man, never once had I ever seen him for broken, so lost. Curling up in a tighter ball and burying my face in my sleeve, I swore lightly. My friends, the closest thing I had to a family left, were gone from my life. They were now hunting me.

Hearing distant voices, I sat up and looked around. I paled upon hearing the same men as before.

"I found him!" one shouted, his voice much closer and louder than before. "The bastard's sleepin'!" I was dizzy from sitting up so fast, so I became disoriented. Before I could stand, I felt myself surrounded by four men. Panicking, I grabbed an end of one of the logs from the fire. It wasn't in flames, but the other end was. I stumbled back while waving my makeshift weapon around, which seemed to keep the men from grabbing me. Somehow, in the dizzy craze, I was cornered, my back against a tree. The fiery wood was knocked from my hand, and I had several sharp objects pointed at my face. While trying to gather up the will and concentration to cast any magic, a loud gunshot was heard. I yelped and ducked to the ground, thinking the bullet was aimed at me. Instead, there was no searing pain, and I heard the curses of the men as they scattered like scared animals. I sat on the ground for a moment, hands over my head, scared to move. After a great hesitation, I raised my head slowly and looked ahead to see something dark move towards me. This time I managed to cast magic on time, hitting the newcomer with a Bolt attack. I stood and flattened my back against the tree to see the dark figured stumble back, letting out a short curse in pain. Gleaming red eyes opened and stared at me, narrowing.

"That's how you choose to thank me for saving your life?" A bittersweet familiar voice growled as Vincent Valentine straightened up and walked towards me. I didn't know whether to be relieved or even more afraid.

"…My bad." I said in a weak voice, making myself smaller as he closed in on me. "I thought you were gonna-"

"Kill you?" he interrupted with some level of amusement in his voice. "If I intended harm, I would have let the villagers take you back to Midgar." He extended a hand and grabbed my shoulder, the one which was still injured from throwing myself against the steel door so many times. I winced and tried to move away, but he held me still. "The stupid ones always try to escape the holding cells. You should know better, being a Turk and all."

My eyes widened and I stared at his dark face for a moment. Of course he would know that, having been a Turk himself, but it was still shocking that he would know exactly how I had injured my shoulder. He took the battered shoulder in hand and claw, and with one swift movement, and a sickening, painful crack, the bone was back in it's place. I gave a cry of pain and slumped against the tree. Although the movement of the bone was severely painful, my shoulder felt better now, and moving my arm didn't hurt as bad.

"I must give you credit." Valentine said, making me sit on the ground. There was some gentleness to him, which was strange. "Surviving the experiments alone is a feat, but escaping the building and making it all the way here…" He gave a light smile. "That has it's place among legends."

Still holding my shoulder, I looked at the dark-haired man. "But… didn't you escape Hojo, too?'

"Hardly." He replied while bringing out a small bag from under his cloak and looking into it. "The scientist killed me over a dispute, then brought me back to life with horrible experiments. He left me to wake up the way I am now." He pulled out a materia orb, which made me flinch. Not only did I expect some horrible attack, but the very thought of materia made me sick. Valentine sighed and put his golden talon-hand on my shoulder. "Relax, I'm simply going to heal you." He said while casting Cure on my sore shoulder, and on my chest. I winced as I felt the skin pull over my injury and heal quickly.

"Why are you helping me, Valentine?" I asked, looking at him again. The man was crouched beside me, replacing the materia back into the bag.

"Having been victim to Hojo's sick mind, I hate seeing another man suffer from it. I can't say either of us are innocent, but there is not a single soul which deserves that kind of treatment." He explained quietly, looking at the fire absent-mindedly. There was a long silence, which was a little uncomfortable. I shifted in my place, closing my eyes and trying to figure out what was going on.

"What did he do to you?"

After a long, calm examination of his golden claws, which shone in the fire's light, Valentine sighed. "For starters, he left my one forearm so deformed it had to be replaced by…this." He clenched the metal claws, and they clicked together lightly. "And performed a complicated procedure to merge my own body with damned beings. He made me a demon's host, which is probably what brought me back to life."

"So… he saved you?" I looked at him again, raising my eyebrows.

He laughed darkly, a bitterness in his voice that just screamed the lust for revenge. "No, my friend. He left me to live in a personal hell for the rest of my life, and eternity thereafter."

* * *

Hope you liked it! I apologise again, I promise the next one will be soon!


	14. Acceptance

I know, I slack. I've been trying so hard, between Christmas, assignments, and fanfics, to keep everything in order, but I fail X.X

Anwhoo, new chapter... not much here, just all the stuff I must get through in order to make the story work. Fun fun fun!

I'm so sorry, guys, I promise things will pick up soon, now that the Christmas rush is over. I also promise to reply to every review this time around, I missed a lot of people last time. But you guys know that I love you all, and I appreciate every reader and reviewer.

Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue

* * *

I sank back into the mattress with a sigh and forced myself to open my eyes. The dull roar of the airship floated about the room, and the darkness around me was only disturbed by light leaking through the slits of the blinds over the window. I stared at the dark tiled ceiling for a long time, listening to the voices just outside the door. 

"Fuck no!" an angry, somewhat gruff voice boomed. "I ain't having no Turk on my ship!"

"Cid, please." A feminine voice begged softly in response. From her desperate tone, I could also tell she was trying to shush him to save my ears. Yeah, like I didn't already guess he would say that. "He's not with ShinRa anymore, and he's got nowhere to go. We think he might have an infection from a wound, he could barely stand after Vincent and I healed him."

"You think I give a damn?" the man I assumed was named Cid hissed. "If one of us dragged our sorry ass into ShinRa HQ, you think we wouldn't get a bullet between the eyes? Shit, Aeris… think!"

I winced a little, both from his harsh words and the pain in my lower chest. Everything he had said was true, and I could never deny that. I glanced at the window and contemplated just jumping out. A little fun fall for about ten seconds, then it'd all be over. And that's all I wanted.

I wanted it all to end.

"_You_ think…" Aeris' words, lined with frustration, derailed my train of thought. "Just for once, think about someone other than yourself." She growled before walking into the room and closing the door before Cid could reply. We heard a long string of curses before the heavy footsteps of the man storming donw the hallway. The Ancient smiled lightly at me and walked over to my bedside. I looked up at her, eyes filled with a million apologies, but she simply removed my goggles from my forehead and lay a gentle hand on the newly exposed skin.

"Don't worry, Reno." her voice was nurturing, caring, something I had never heard from my own mother. "We wont let Cid, Cloud, or anyone tell us that you're not welcome here."

When she said 'We', I knew it was her and Vincent. They were the only ones that gave a damn, from what I could see. I didn't know why Aeris would care, or even Vincent. I was their enemy.

"You don't have to help me." I said, turning my head away in an almost shameful manner. Of course I was ashamed, having to be saved by the people I used to fight against wasn't a very proud moment. "You should just throw me off the ship."

Aeris sighed lightly and sat on the bed, looking at me. "We're not like that, Reno. Can't you see that we're good people?"

I was silent for a moment, beginning to stare at the ceiling again. "In the past few weeks, I guess I learned that you guys weren't horrible terrorists like the company told everyone…" I sighed again, but it hurt my chest. Despite the fact that Vincent had cast Cure on the wounds, I supposed that I indeed did have an infection. "But I also learned the truth about evil, and who the bad guys really are. Call it cliché, but I've been so blind."

The flower girl smiled at me, and much to my surprise, put her hand on my forehead again. Her fingers went through my hair gently. "You're not a bad person, Reno." she told me in a soft, reassuring tone.

"But there's blood on my hands, nonetheless." I said in monotone. "They may have forced me to drop the plate, but that's no excuse for me to make."

"But you didn't want to, did you?"

"No, not one bit."

She smiled again, hand still stroking through my hair. "There there you go. You may have done wrong, but if you realise it and are sorry for it, then your soul will feel lighter. Whatever you did for a living, and whatever Hojo did to you doesn't make you any less human."

I was already drifting off to sleep, feeling something like a cat from her gentle hand stroking my head. If I could have, I would have purred. "Vincent told you, eh?" I mumbled lazily, somewhat surprised she knew of my incidents in the lab.

"Yes, and I can promise that you will be safe here, if you can promise us something."

"Anything."

"That you are in no way still affiliated with ShinRa, and that you will not cause any trouble for us. We want to help you, but we need to trust you first." she said, although sounding like she already knew that she could have faith in me. I opened my eyes again and looked at her.

"Done and done." I managed to smile, and she stood up.

"I'm glad." she gave a light bow of the head and started walking to the door. "We'll be by to check on you soon, so get some sleep."

I watched her leave and rolled onto my side, burying the side of my face into the pillow. For the first time in months, perhaps even years, I felt like I could sleep peacefully, and I knew it was going to be alright. An endless amount of nights spent laying awake, either afraid of the company I worked for, or my own sins, had weighed down on me. Perhaps Aeris was right, because my soul felt a little lighter now.

Drifting off into sleep again, I couldn't help but smile.

* * *

_"Reno..."_

_"Yo."_

_"Do you think we'll ever make it to the Turks?"_

_I put my arm around my friend and laughed lightly, shaking his shoulder. "I know it. If we don't get in because of our skills, it'll be my good looks."_

_Rude rolled his eyes and laughed as well.Both with applications and portfolios in hand, my best friend and I walked down the cold streets of Midgar towards the ShinRa HQ."Seriously... I hear the Turks have to go through a lot of dirty work. Like hits and kidnapping." the bald man said, actually sounding a little unsure of our idea to apply. We both worked so hard to get this far, but Rude always had a habit of having second thoughts at the last minute. That was the trait that almost killed him allthrough university._

_"C'mon, we wouldn't be killing anyone who didn't deserve it. Turks only take out the bad guys, you know that."_

_"I don't wanna make a living killing people." Rude told me, voice suddenly going quiet. I looked over to him and gave him a reassuring smile._

_"It won't be all murder and lies and stuff, man. We'll be doing the right thing." I pushed him along the street. "C'mon, ya big sap, if you can help me pass University chemistry, you can pull this off."_

_Rude laughed and put sunglasses on, something he always did to hide the nervousness in his eyes. "True... alright, let's go." he smiled at me. "I'll race ya."_

_I dismissed that with a wave of the hand. "C'mon, we're twenty... way too mature for th-" I cut myself off as I started running down the street.

* * *

_

"Do you think he will be alright, Nanaki?"

"I assume so, the infection should clear up over the next few days. However, the results of the experimentation will be permanent."

I stirred lightly as these voices gently brought me back into consciousness. I opened my eyes slowly, and the world melted into place around me. I instinctively sat up upon seeing two figures at my bedside. I winced, and a hand carefully guided me to lay down again. I blinked the blurriness out of my eyes and saw Vincent and the lion-beast, RedXIII standing there. Vincent leaned over and checked my forehead for any sort of fever, and I made a mental note to fry him from the inside out of he dare to give me the same treatment the flower girl did.

"How are you feeling?" he asked before retracting his hand.

"Alright, I guess." I said quietly, although I felt like I was going to be ill any second. The beast put his front paws on the bed and looked at me closely, which made me feel a little uncomfortable. His long, flame-tipped tail swished about behind him.

"The madness of Hojo's mind never ceases to amaze me." he said, mostly to himself. I noticed that his voice seemed a lot lighter than I guessed it would be. Perhaps I wasn't expecting something so human and sounded so young. "Your eyes used to be stained with Mako, now they are flooded with it. The materia in your blood must be what saved you from Mako poisoning." he gave a sigh, showing how human-like he really was. "It's not hard to see how upset you are, because your eyes glow with your emotion."

I stared at the beast for a long time before he got down on all four paws again. The creature on his own amazed me, but it's intelligence totally blew me away.

"You're not mad about me being here?" I asked quietly, having expected the beast to simply growl at me. RedXIII shook his head, that mane-like hair of his swaying with his movements. "No, and the others will come around, too, just give them time."

I gave a small sigh of relief, grateful that I had been this lucky. My former enemies became my heroes in my time of need. Ironic much?

"Now…" Vincent pulled a wooden chair to the bedside and sat in it, looking at me with those intense red eyes. "Tell us exactly what happened."


	15. Let Me Help You

Yes, I slack. Horribly. School is nearly killing meh, and I've discovered that a nerd like me had a social life! -gasp- Who would have seen THAT coming?

Anywhoo, a million more apologies. A few weeks from now, after ISUs and exams are over with, I'll be back on track. Don't mind the severe emo-ness of this chapter... all part of Reno's emotions. (hey, if some creepy guy conducted horrible experiments on you, you'd be emo, too!)  
It'll get better. I promise. -grovels-

Your reviews are greatly loved, and I'm trying to reply to each and every one. Thank you all!

Disclaimer: All characters are property of Square.

* * *

I stepped closer to the edge, little baby steps on unbalanced, yet confident feet. My chilled hands gripped the railing, which only came up to my hip. My knuckles turned white as I stared down at the ground, hundreds of feet below me. Winds whipped all around me, ruffling my clothes and hair violently. I sucked in a quick, cold breath before I stepped over the railing. I set my feet on the thin ledge, and my arms reached back to wrap around the rail. The wind seemed to encourage me as it pushed on my back. I continued to look down, a thin layer of clouds between me and the distant earth.

_It will be quick. _I tell myself. _It might even be fun until you hit the ground._

I'll just leave this whole life behind me. Away from my enemies, away from the lab, away from the torture of living with the fact that I wasn't human. I wasn't worth saving, I wasn't even worth the breath of air I had just taken. I can fall so easily, because I have broken wings.

I shut my eyes tightly, and my grip loosened on the railing. I seemed to fall forward for half a second before my body had an involuntary spasm and I grabbed the railing again - for dear life. I vaulted the railing and clambered back onto the steel floor of the ship, shaking. I sat in a stunned trance for a moment. So close this time.

Thirteen attempts, not one in which I had succeeded.

With a light shiver, I forced myself to open my eyes. I saw a violent flicker of crimson, and my heart almost hit the floor. I shut my eyes again, feeling like a child as I hoped he would go away if I pretended I didn't see him there.

"Reno, come inside." Surprisingly, his voice was not angry, or even close to it. It was full of care and concern. I opened my eyes again and looked up at Vincent, making myself smaller against the bars of the railing. I was completely silent as I stared up at the dark-haired man, and he also said nothing. However, it was like we already knew what the other person was thinking. Slowly, Vincent walked towards me, his boots clanking against the steel floor softly. He extended his human hand to me.

"Why wont you let me help you?" he finally asked, so quiet that his voice was barely audible over the engines. I felt an ache in my heart.

That's exactly what they said.

"_Reno, we're only trying to help."_

"_Tough luck. I don't need help."_

_Rude heaved a sigh as he placed his shades into the breast pocket of his blazer. His eyes were bloodshot, he was clearly exhausted. He knelt down beside the bed and looked at me for a long time. He wanted to be angry, I could tell. He wanted to shout at me, swear at the top of his lungs and tell me he was sick of this stupid game. He wanted to tell me how badly this hurt him._

_But he didn't._

"_Don't make me call Elena in." he threatened. My mouth twisted into some sort of product of half amusement, half annoyance._

"_Fine." I reached under the pillow and pulled out the half-empty vodka bottle I had swiped earlier._

"_Reno…"_

_I gave a childish huff and handed him the bottle of painkillers I had mostly downed. Ceasing my glare at him, I buried my face in the pillow._

"_Is everything okay?" I heard Elena ask from the doorway. Rude sighed again and showed her the objects I had stolen from the kitchen in the middle of the night. I had been in so much pain - of all kinds - that I just wanted to be numb. I didn't give a damn about a hangover, I just wanted to slip away for a while._

_I heard a frustrated grunt from Elena as she knelt beside my bed. "Reno, why are you doing this to yourself?"_

"_Take three guesses, we'll make it a game." I growled acidly into the pillow, ignoring my friends as they tried once again to pull me out of my emotional state of 'I don't give a flying fuck.'_

_I don't want help._

I was silent for an agonizingly long time, staring at his gloved hand, and letting my eyes follow his arm up to his pale face, strewn with concern.

"Because I don't want help." I eventually replied, looking away from him.

There was a low growl before I was unwillingly hauled to my feet. In a surge of inhuman strength, Vincent grabbed my arm and all but threw me over the railing. I barely heard my own screams of fear as I clutched the railing with my hands. My feet dangled for a moment before I set then on the metal of the side of the ship, scrambling to get back up. I wanted to be back on the safe side, on the ground. There was no longer an urge to fall, or to even let go of the railing, it was my only support as I held on with white knuckles. I looked up at Vincent with panic and fear all over my face and in my eyes. He looked uncaring, frighteningly calm.

"Do you want help?"

"You're a sick fuck!"

"Very well, then." he said as he simply turned away and started to walk inside. His cape flowed behind him as he stepped away from me. I felt the ache in my hands and shoulders burn more intensely every second. My hands started to go numb and slip from the metal. Horrified, I screamed again and tried to climb up using my feet against the slick metal, but failed. I started to panic, breathing getting heavier. Was he really going to leave me? Leave me to die? I didn't want to die!

…I didn't want to die.

"VINCENT!" I screamed as loudly as possible, feeling my hands slip further and further out of their tight grip on the railing. I felt myself falling for a moment before hands clasped onto mine, and I was hauled up and over the railing. As soon as I hit the steel floor, I went limp and sobbed like a child for the better part of a minute. The scare had broken the icy walls of my cold exterior, now I was a mess of raw emotion. Vincent knelt beside me, a wry smile pulling at his lips.

"It seems like you want my help…" he said in monotone, almost like this was something entirely normal for him.

"You're a bastard." I choked, looking up at him. I didn't dare move, I was almost afraid now. "How can I trust you now?"

"I caught you, didn't I?" he countered calmly before taking a hold of my arm. I flinched, but he was gentle in helping me sit up. "Listen, I wouldn't have let you fall, no matter what. I knew an epiphany would be inevitable on your part."

At that moment, I felt like I had dove into a pool of warm water. It washed over me so suddenly, so soothingly. I wanted to ask a million questions, but the answers all hit me at the same time. Looking at my saviour, I now saw myself in him. He most likely saw himself in me, as well. For the first time in months, I felt like I wasn't alone anymore. He was saving me. Saving me from myself. His smile grew more warm, and less smug.

"You have no idea how many hours I wasted back then…" he said, sitting beside me. "Looking at my gun, sometimes putting the end of the barrel to my temple. One movement of my thumb, and I would hear the click. I would end up being so scared I threw it ten feet away. Every single time."

"When you're faced with death, I guess nobody wants to die, eh?" I said quietly, looking down at my hands, which were red and aching. "I am feeling so lost now, but in order to feel that way-"

"You know you were feeling whole and happy sometime before this." he practically finished my sentence for me as he stood up and offered his hand again. "It takes being happy to be sad, and vice-versa. Human emotion is a fickle thing, and I'll be damned if it ever gets figured out." He smiled again. "Now come, lets go inside before Cid comes out and murders you for denting the side of his ship with your feet."

Managing a smile back, I took his offered hand and he helped me to my feet. Without a second glance at the railing, I walked back inside with him.

As the group parked the Highwind outside of North Corel, we were getting ready for a trip to the Gold Saucer the next morning. That place always brought a smile to my face, it seemed like one of those things that resurrected the young child in everyone. However, Avalanche had plans in mind, and I wasn't about to interfere. As I was about to return to my room on the ship after joining them in a discussion of their plans for tomorrow, I saw a group of the men about to leave. Except for Vincent and Nanaki, none of the men ever bothered to talk to me. Perhaps they were still bitter about having an ex-Turk on board. That was fair enough, I didn't want to force any sort of friendship that would end up with me getting my ass kicked sooner or later. I kept walking, with my hands in my pockets and my shoulders slumped.

"Reno." Cid called after me as I walked down the hall. I stopped, pausing completely for a moment before daring to turn my head to look back. The pilot was pulling on his jacket, and watching me, and so were the others.

"Yo." I simply replied in acknowledgement. Cid seemed to almost hesitate for a moment as he looked at the others before looking back at me.

"Wanna join us for a couple drinks?"


	16. Drinking Games

Hey, everyone! I know I've been slacking, but I finally bring you a new chapter! I think some positive events are way overdue, so this is just a bit of sillyness and fun... well, most of it XD

Enjoy! And keep those reviews coming! I love them!

Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.

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It seemed like forever since I had drank socially, the previous months having been filled with attempting to drink myself into oblivion at night. Although I was reluctant to even touch the vodka Cloud had slid across the table to me, the groups encouragement lead me to start drinking. Pretty soon the guys had challenged me and my alcohol tolerance, and naturally, I had to maintain whatever pride I had left.

"I could drink a lightweight like you under the table." the pilot smirked at me, gripping his full glass in a manner that told he could down it within seconds. I sneered at him in a light-hearted manner.

"Bitch, please. I could out drink you all and walk out of here with a buzz." I challenged, ignoring the warning glance Vincent shot at me. We both knew it wouldn't be a good idea for me to get myself into a drinking contest, especially while sending out such words that could get someone angry. These people had just started to trust me, after all. However, Cid just laughed lightly.

"Alright, bring it."

I heard a groan from Vincent as he shook his head and ran a hand over his face. Cid and I stared at each other for a couple seconds before Cloud gave the signal and we both started chugging. As I downed my drink, memories seemed to flood into me faster than the alcohol. How many times had me and Rude knocked back shots in a friendly competition? How many times had I peer-pressured Tseng into getting totally hammered? We even got Elena, when she was the innocent newbie, to drink herself into pure idiocy. Now matter how drunk I had been that one night, I would never forget when poor Elena slurred her way through pouring her heart out to Tseng. Thankfully the boss was half-passed out, and neither of them remembered that incident. I remembered Rude bet his favourite pair of sunglasses into a drinking contest, and after I won them, I wore them around the office for a week just to piss him off, but ended up giving them back.

Despite my distraction of scattered memories, I managed to slam my glass down on the table upside down and look across the table to see Cid finish half a second after me. He set down his glass in a similar manner, looking completely shocked as he glanced at me.

"Holy shit!" he exclaimed, looking at me with wide eyes. Everyone else looked at me with the same stunned look, even Vincent. "How the hell did you do that?"

"Well," I started, waving a hand as if this wasn't anything special. "I thought I'd slow down a bit just to give you a fair chance." I gave a smug smirk, watching his unimpressed look. "But I guess I'm just that good."

"Alright, alright." Cid straightened up and signalled to the server for another drink. "Let's see you try and beat Vince." The dark-haired man looked at Cid and shook his head.

"No, don't get me involved." he said, seeming to pale a little as the alcohol was slid his way. "I don't feel like drinking."

"Bull." Barret said, giving him hefty slap on the shoulder blade. "You can out drink everyone here. C'mon, man, this is about Avalanche Pride."

Vincent still looked unsure. "May I point out that he's one of us n-"

"Just drink." Cloud cut in, looking rather bored. "Sooner he beats you, sooner we can get his gloating over with."

I laughed at that, and got my drink re-filled. Vincent growled lightly, and we all knew that the comment had made him go on defensive mode. He looked over at me, as we sat next to each other, and I gave him a smug smirk.

"I see the hard-drinking Turk reputation sticks." he growled, grabbing his glass. "But when I was a Turk, we'd drink the tavern dry."

"When I was you're age…" I mocked in an elderly man's voice before chuckling darkly. "Are we gonna drink, or shoot challenges all night?"

"Let me show you how a real man does it."

On Cloud's signal, we both swung our glasses back and drank as quickly as possible. I felt the light burn of the vodka as I chugged it, but once again the blissful rush of memories. I had mocked Tseng in the same way as I had Vincent. Calling him old, even though he was only a couple years my senior, and getting him to feel all defensive about his pride. He was obviously a very proud man, so getting him to 'raise his hackles', so to say, was amusing.

As soon as the wave of alcohol ended, I quickly slammed my glass down with lightning-fast speed. The sound of the glass hitting the table was matched with Vincent's and we looked at each other at the same time. There were surprised murmurs from the rest of the men as Vincent and I started at each other, huffing as we caught our breath from the drinking. The other man was the one to break the silence between us.

"Who stopped first, Barret?" he asked, not taking his gaze off me. My vision was blurred around the edges, but I knew I was far from done for the night. I could almost feel a rush of energy, adrenaline from the challenges. Barret seemed at a loss for words.

"You guys stopped that exact same time!" He said, sounding unbelieving.

"Shit, Turks must drink like fish!" Cid added, law almost hanging. I smiled again, glancing at the foul-mouthed pilot.

"Just between us, the Midgar Hospital nurses know me by name, I've been in for alcohol poisoning so many times." Everyone laughed lightly, and I signalled for two more drinks. "Alright, Vincent. You may know how to hold your drink, but I'm not fooling around anymore."

"Are your goggles on too tight?" Cloud asked, looking at me like I was insane.

"Nah, that's Cid's issue." I retorted, chuckling as Cid swore at me. "C'mon, Vincent."

When I stumbled into my hotel room, I felt the world spinning around me. I collapsed into my bed and looked at the hark ceiling, the creepy decorations of the Ghost Hotel seeming to swirl and melt together in my blurred vision. I couldn't help but chuckle lightly. I was happy to be drunk, and finally knew that I had a reason to live. I had friends again.

I couldn't remember who won the drinking contest, me or Vincent, but I remembered that every minute of it was fun. I hoped the hangover wouldn't be too horrible, because I knew that the girls would be scolding all of us about it. Much like Elena did. Although she always helped all of us through our hangovers, she never let us get away with it, even Tseng.

I started drifting into a deep sleep, sighing contently. I rolled onto my stomach lazily, burying half my face into the soft pillow. Before I knew it, I was passed out, finally with a lighter soul and a content feeling.

The door swung open quickly, slamming against the opposite wall loudly. I was jolted awake and I rolled onto my back and sat up quickly. Immediately after that, I groaned and held my head in my hands as it throbbed painfully. Before I could fully fall back into the mattress, I was hauled upright by the shirt harshly. Wincing, I looked up to Cloud, who looked angrier than I had ever seen him, even during the times we fought each other.

"What the hell, man?" I growled, shoving him away. He stumbled back, but was after me again in a second, yanking me to sit up and getting right in my face.

"You bastard!" he hissed, making a fist with full intentions of socking me across the face. "We trusted you! You and Cait Sith working together, huh? You get us all wasted and he snatched the Keystone." He shoved me against the headboard, and I coughed as the wind was knocked out of me.

"You psychopath!" I growled, glaring at him. "What the hell are you rambling about? What the hell would I want with the Keystone?"

Cloud had fought in the Battle Arena in order to get that important item, and we needed it to get to the Temple of Ancients. As I recollected Cait Sith, the robot, my heart sank. Reeve had made that robot, and when I had joined the group, I made him promise not to tell the company I was with them. Reeve was a friend of mine, so he had no problem with keeping my location safe, However, I wasn't counting on the spy's actions to be pegged on me. I guess I should have thought that one through.

"You're a class act, Reno." Cloud snarled, ready to land a punch. Before I could react, Cait Sith bounced in.  
"Cloud, wait, he didn't have anything to do with it!" the cat exclaimed, jumping up from it's Mog steed and clinging to his arm desperately. The swordsman swung it off his arm with ease.

"Shut the hell up!"

With all of this chaos and confusion, I didn't notice Cid storm in. The pilot hauled me to my feet and all but threw me against the wall. I yelped as I felt a sharp sting in the back of my head, and slumped against the wall, wincing.

"I trusted you, you little bastard!" he snarled. "You've got a lot of nerve trickin' us like that." He looked beyond angry, like he was about to explode with pure, undiluted rage. I flattened myself against the wall, suppressing a whimper.

"I didn't do anything!" I insisted, making myself smaller under his glare. He called me a dirty liar and swung his fist at my head. I ducked just in time, and a hole was left in the wall. I scrambled away, and before Cid could try and catch me, someone grabbed him by the shirt and cast him away with seemingly inhuman strength. Cid almost hit the opposite wall, and I vaulted the bed to keep something between me and everyone else. I looked through my distorted, still blurry and painful vision to see Vincent turn to me. This time I let out a sound like a scared dog, backing up slowly.

"Shit, not you, too." I said quietly, looking at him pleadingly. He looked at Cloud, who was holding the cat robot by its little red cape, to Cid, who was growling and nursing a bruising elbow, then to me. His red eyes seemed to glow with anger, but the rest of him seemed deathly calm.

"Everyone. Downstairs. _Now_."


	17. Loyalty

Here it is! I'm finally getting back into the routine of updating my fanfics! Yay! This is another long chapter, jsut to make up for all my slacking recently. What can i say? I feel bad for neglecting this fic. So, Enjoy!

Notes: I know they got the Highwind AFTER these events in the game, but it's easier to work with. The Highwind is a flying mass of convenience, okay?  
Also, a warning: Swearing and gore XD YAY!

Disclaimer: I don't own them, unfortumatly TT.TT

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They all seemed to look at me with deep distrust and hurt in their eyes. I was the enemy again. I flattened my back against the wall again, looking at the group as we had all met in the main lobby. I wanted to just run, feeling that there was nothing I could do to convince them of my innocence. A bunch of them were absolutely fuming, and the lion beast had his lips curled and was growling dangerously. I slumped my shoulders and bowed my head, feeling defeated.

"Please, for the love of the Planet, you gotta believe me…" I said quietly, forcing myself to look at the group. Aeris walked over to me and looked me in the eye, and I could read the disappointment in her eyes. I could have burst into tears upon seeing that, but I managed to keep the remainder of my composure. However, her faced softened.

"I want to believe you, Reno, I really do-"

"For fuck's sake, let me kill him!" Barret roared, and I felt sick upon hearing the dull 'click' of his gunarm. "Where the hell is my daughter!" he demanded, grabbing my shirt and yanking harshly. I winced, the remainders of my hangover starting up again. It seemed that within all this chaos, a headache and some nausea seemed petty.

"For the last time, I don't know! I didn't even know Reeve was going to pull anything." I growled, trying to pull back from his death grip. I was just thankful that powerful hand was not around my neck, since he could and would crush my windpipe without much effort. Barret suddenly released his grip on my shirt, and I fell back and hit the wall hard.

"Who's Reeve?" Cloud demanded, also closing in on me. I was starting to feel cornered, but I had to keep my wits about me.

"H-he's the head of Urban Development." I stammered, looking up at Cloud. "He's the one who made Cait Sith. I knew he made a robot… but I didn't know it was actually with you guys until Vincent rescued me."

They all looked at me, then looked at Cait Sith, the cat robot jumped down from it's Mog steed and moved to my side.

"It's true." The annoying, childish voice of the cat robot was replaced by a familiar smooth, sure voice. I recognised it to be Reeve's voice. He was talking to us through the robot, now. Everyone, including me, looked shocked, but the feline simply climbed up me by gripping my clothes to pull himself up, and perched on my shoulder. "This mission was an important one, but only the leader of the Turks was fully informed on what this robot was to be used for. Reno only learned of my involvement in Avalanche when he saw Cait Sith upon joining the group. I never let him know what my motives were, however, my identity had to remain hidden. In exchange for his silence and keeping this from all of you, I vowed to never let the president know of his whereabouts."

I looked at the little cat robot, then dared to look at everyone else. The seemed pretty sceptical, which was understandable. Barret still seemed completely enraged.

"Where's Marlene?" he growled. "Where did you hide my daughter?" I was completely stunned when it registered in my mind that Reeve had taken part in a child's kidnapping. I turned to the cat, and grabbed it, holing it in the air at eye level by it's arm.

"You kidnapped his kid?" I asked, both angry and shocked. "I can't fucking believe you, Reeve!" If the man himself had been in front of me, despite all the friendship we had, I would have socked him across the face. The cat squirmed in my grip.

"President's orders. I didn't want to, but Rufus wouldn't have it any other way."

I sighed and dropped the cat, which landed on it's feet swiftly. Slumping against the wall, I once again felt like I was going to be sick.

"Yeah, president's orders…" I echoed bitterly, wanting to throw my fist into the wall. His orders was my own capture and forceful co-operation in the laboratory. What Rufus wants, Rufus gets. It seemed almost like a fact of life now. I glanced down at the cat. "Reeve… is everyone else alright?" I asked, internally wondering why I had never asked him this before. "Were they okay after I ran off?" I ignored everyone murmuring amongst themselves, and questioning if this was relevant. Cait Sith looked at me and nodded, and Reeve's voice came back.

"We made sure that their families were relocated without the president knowing. Rufus was fuming when he found out you got away, and yelled at them quite a bit, but they're fine. They're worried about you."

I sighed and straightened up before looking at the group again. "I can't give you real proof that I had nothing to do with it, that much I'll admit. But if it's any comfort or reassurance…" I looked to Barret. "I'll look into getting your daughter back." Everyone fell dead silent, and Barret looked completely blank for a moment. Reeve was the first to speak.

"But Reno, you're not even part of the company anymore." He pointed out, the cat climbing back onto it's steed.

"I know, but I owe it to you guys to at least try. If Reeve can tell me where she is, I can get her out easily, without you guys having to interrupt your chase of Sephiroth." I said quietly. I owed it to Marlene, too. I knew the fear and the helplessness she must be feeling. Without a doubt in my mind, I knew Rufus was an evil man with no mercy or conscience. "If you give me another chance, I'll be grateful. Even if you don't, I'll still try to rescue the kid."

Everyone looked at me for a long time, silent, shocked, and god knows what else they were feeling. Barret's anger seemed to have faded immediately.

"…You'd do that for us? For her?" he asked, voice surprisingly calm and soft. I nodded slowly, and I could swear I saw him smile. "Thank you."

"Just… don't kick my ass, if it's not too much trouble." I managed to muse lightly. The group, although finding humour in my statement, talked amongst themselves for a moment. I heard Vincent, who had been dead silent the whole time, throw in a few words in my favour, which made me feel very relieved. I was afraid that he didn't trust me. He had put forth so much effort into helping me, and to even think that I betrayed him in such a way was heartbreaking for both of us. Barret didn't seem to angry, grateful, even. However, Cloud and Cid were sceptical. Yuffie didn't think I was honest either, to which Vincent retorted with pointing out their wild goose chase when she had stolen their materia. After what seemed like ages, they all turned to me, and Vincent smiled lightly.

"Come on, we have to hurry, so let's get going. If we want to catch up to Sephiroth, we'll need that Keystone. If we can beat Tseng to the Temple of Ancients and stop him when he arrives, we can get it back."

I watched him for a moment, swallowing the lump that had formed in my throat. "So that means you guys… aren't leaving me behind?" I asked, my voice getting smaller. They all nodded, and Vincent put my hand on my shoulder, guiding me towards the door as we started filing out.

"Yes. I know you wouldn't do anything in favour of the company that betrayed you." A slight smirk pulled at his lips. "Besides, you owe us for all our drinks, since you lost the drinking contest."

I snorted lightly, but managed to smile. "I _so_ kicked your ass, and you know it."

Once again we boarded the Highwind, and I felt grateful and lucky to be able to stay with these people. They were once my enemies, and almost were again for a few minutes, but they treated me like a human rather than a lab rat. And that was all I really asked of people now, that they didn't look at me as a specimen. Experiment #00937593 wasn't my name, after all.

We landed by the temple of Ancients, and the group, excluding Cid, Tifa and Yuffie, who stayed in the ship, went through the thick jungle. We travelled for what felt like a couple hours, but finally reached the pyramid-like structure, what we all knew to be the temple. We all stopped, and looked up at it for a full minute, soaking in the scenery before us. It was definatly old, but at the same time felt like it was pulsing with life. Aeris smiled stared with bright, excited eyes.

"All my life people had told me it was nothing but a myth…" she said softly before running up the long set of steps. The rest of us all looked at each other before following. We all could understand her excitement, but it would not be wise to go running ahead. She suddenly stopped at the top of the temple, and the bunch of us either almost ran into her or each other. As we collected our balance again, we saw she was looking down at a figure, covered from head to toe in a black cloak.

"What is it?" I asked, looking at the figure laying on the ground. It seemed to weak, and I don't know what other word I could use to describe it other than soulless.

"Se-Sephiroooth…" it groaned quietly. "Reun…ion."

We all exchanged confused looks before looking down at it again. Cloud then said that it had to be one of those weird clones that they had seen in Nibelhiem.

"Reunite with…Seph…Sephiroth." the thing said hoarsely before seeming to levitate and disappear in a flash of light. We all shielded our eyes from the bright light, which hurt our eyes, then stood in silence for a moment. I didn't know whether to be confused or simply afraid.

"Alright, we have to hurry." Cloud broke the stunned silence, his own voice uneasy. "Let's go."

We all nodded before heading into the temple's entrance. However, as soon as I regained my composure, it was snatched away from me with a vicious swipe to the heart. We all paused again. No, for the love of the Planet, this couldn't be what I was seeing. I felt as if the wind had been fully knocked out of me, as if someone had elbowed me hard in the chest.

Tseng was laying there, on his back, right in front of the stone alter that would give access to the Temple. Blood seemed to soak the ground around him, coming from a severe wound. I could see the gaping slash, starting just above his chest and stretching down toover his abdomen. I could see that sliced fleshthrough his bloody, ripped suit, andmy stomach twisted. The cutlooked fatally deep.His suit, his hair, his hands, they were all soaked in his blood. I choked for a moment, but was the first to react.

"Tseng!" I rushed over to his side, and knelt down beside my friend's limp body. Carefully lifting his upper body onto my lap, I checked for a pulse. He was alive. Barely. His eyes were closed, and his breathing was laboured. A small river of blood trickled from one corner of his mouth, adding to the pool around him. I felt my own breathing match his, my throat almost closing up on me. "Please wake up. Please please, for the love of all things Holy, wake the fuck up!" My voice was cracked heavily, and I felt myself loose control. I slipped off my old blazer and put it over his large wound, adding pressure to slow the bleeding. The other man stirred for a moment. His eyelids moved before his blood splattered face pulled into a pained wince. By now the others were all around us, all unsure of what to do. After all, he was their enemy.

"Reno, what are you doing here?" my former boss managed to ask , voice extremely quiet, lacking it's power and authority that it once had. He looked up at me with his dark eyes, but they shone with a faint smile. Despite my horror and fear for his life, I smiled back.

"Long story. You wouldn't believe me if I told you." I said quietly. "Sephiroth did this, didn't he?"

Tseng nodded before he looked around at the members of Avalanche, and tried to sit up. However, he winced and his muscles went limp again.

"What the hell is going on?" he coughed. "Why are they here?"

Aeris knelt beside us and looked him over, her face completely blank. She looked at a loss for words or even an emotion. Tseng looked up at her, looking remorseful. He said nothing, however.

"I don't think I should have a reason to be worried for you." Aeris eventually said quietly, standing up and looking away from Tseng. The rest of us were shocked by her words, except for Tseng, who turned his head to stare at an opposite wall of the stone room.

"I would have no right to ask for your sympathy or concern…" he said quietly. Aeris walked a few feet away, back facing all of us.

"After all you did to all those people, and making my life so miserable…" she choked, evidence of tears in her voice. "I shouldn't care. Not one bit." However, we all knew she did care, since we all could tell that at that exact moment, tears were streaming down her face.

"Although I shouldn't expect forgiveness, I will offer you my apologies." He grunted as he winced again, and I could tell he was in serious pain. With what seemed like agonising effort, the wutaiian man lifted his arm and pointed at the alter, where the Keystone sat. "Go after Sephiroth." he said before coughing a couple times. "He went down into the temple after attacking me."

I kept my eyes locked on Tseng, and closed my eyes. After a while, I eventually found my voice and was able to trust it. "You guys go ahead." I said quietly, blinking back tears. Everyone then stared at me.

"Reno, you're coming with us! Remember, he's the bad guy, you're not!" Cloud growled, but I ignored it. I looked up at the group, finding that it had become harder and harder throughout the day.

"You and Aeris may be right, but I'm not leaving him behind." I replied, voice cracking again. "He's helped me through worse than this. I'll make sure they come for him and he gets to the hospital."

"Reno," Tseng strained to talk now. "If they see you, they'll capture you and take you back to the lab without question." The others seemed to nod in agreement, and I shook my head.

"That's a risk I'm willing to take." I said, my mind made up. "You guys go, just forget about me."

They all didn't so much as move, except for Aeris, who turned to us again, face soaked with tears. "Reno…"

I choked again, and took a deep breath as I looked at them. "What else can I say except Thank You…" I forced a smile, despite the white-hot pain I felt upon seeing Vincent's face. It wasn't angry, upset, or anything like that. It was instead a mix of concern, heartbreak, and pride. I sucked in cold air quickly in a very shaky breath. "I owe you all so much more than just my life. I have faith in humanity and life itself, now. You all know who's side I'm on, but I gotta do this. Tseng and the other Turks are my friends, and I'd die for them, just as I'd die for all of you guys." I then looked to Barret, and forced a quick smile. "I'll take care of Marlene, as I promised."

"You just make sure to take care of yourself." Barret's reply eased this horrible internal agony just a little. "Thank you, Reno."

I felt several tears break out and fall from my face and onto Tseng's bloody shirt. I shook me head and forced myself, with all the strength I had left in me, to smile. "Stop being a bunch of saps and get your asses into that temple." I said. "Go find that silver-haired prettyboy and kick his ass."

Despite the hesitation and the pain, they all managed to smile a little bit. They all went one by one into the temple, but Vincent stayed behind for a moment. He knelt down next to me and Tseng.

"I don't know whether to call you a hero, or merely insane." he said, looking at me.

"Put me down for both. Now get going before I get all emo again." I said, waving my now-bloody hand in a dismissive manner. He chuckled lightly, and despite the layer of crimson liquid on my hand, he grabbed hold of it and shook it.

"You're a good man, Reno. Don't you dare forget that. I promise I'll see you again soon." He then stood up and followed the others into the temple. I watched him for a moment, feeling incredibly lost and alone without the new group already, but Tseng's voice snapped me out of it.

"Reno, you joined Avalanche?" he asked weakly, looking up at me. I looked at him, feeling tears sting my eyes again.

"They saved me when I was pretty much doomed." I said before reaching into his blazer pocket and pulling out his radio. "I've been travelling with them for a while now." I explained quickly.

"Don't you dare contact the others." Tseng growled, weakly reaching for the radio. "You'll be dragged off to the lab again. We all barely escaped casualties last time."

I held the radio out of his reach, looking at him softly. "Didn't you hear my little rant a minute ago? My mind is made up. You're my friend, and despite me running away, you always have been. Now just relax." I then turned on the radio and held it close to my mouth, still out of Tseng's reach. "Yo, Rude, Elena, you guys there?" Tseng always hated my informal speech when I used the radio to communicate with them. However, it was force of habit. There was a crackle of static before Elena's unsure voice replied.

"Sir, are you…" she paused, as if something dawned on her. "Reno? Reno, is that you?"

"Sure is," I managed to chuckle. "But you can call me 'Sir' if you want, I find it suits me better." I mused, batting away Tseng's weakly reaching hand. This time, Rude responded first.

"Reno, you crazy son of a bitch!" there was a tint of a laugh in his voice, clearly overjoyed to hear from me. "Where are you?"

I felt my heart overflow with joy upon hearing from the others. Although I was still hurting from parting from Avalanche, the familiar happiness I felt around my old group was coming back, and it felt great. However, it was time to get down to business. "I'm at the Temple of Ancients. Get over here, pronto. Tseng's hurt badly."

There was no questioning, no hesitation, and no doubt from them as they both replied at the exact same time.

"Roger."


	18. Reunited

Hello all! I come bearing another chapter, finally! A lot of family stuff has been going on, so I've been forced to slack yet again. My apologies.

Once again, a bigthank you for all of the reviews, I replied to all of them, I think, and if I missed one, you know I appreciate it SO very much! I must warn you, this chapter is pretty emo XD Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.

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With the stark white, over sanitized walls, heavy smell of medicine and death floating about the corridors, I was reminded of how much I despised hospitals. However, I had stayed in one place, sitting in a chair, for twenty seven hours, waiting for Tseng to regain consciousness. I had only moved from my place a couple times, but I dared not sleep. I was so close to passing out, but I knew I couldn't. Tseng needed me here, and I wasn't going to abandon my friends… again.

He lay on the hospital bed, sheets up over the heavily bandaged wound on his front. His face was deathly pale, although it's lower half was covered with an oxygen mask, which was what kept him breathing at the moment. The amount of wires and tubes hooked up to him was sickening to me, but I kept telling myself that they were doing him good. There was a dull 'beep' sound every few seconds, announcing his heartbeat, and his laboured, almost forced breathing were the only things breaking the silence. His breathing was slow, and every time his chest lowered, I held my own breath, silently praying that it would rise again. When it did, I would feel relief wash through me. It was a reoccurring event, constant throughout my stay. I knew he would keep breathing, but I feared that he wouldn't.

The doctor said that he was lucky to be alive. 'He's a fighter.' he had told me and the others. I could only look at my former boss with pride and tears in my eyes. He truly is. He was the one who trained me in my early Turk years, the one who taught me everything I knew now. He drilled it into my head that giving up was never an option, not just on a mission, but in every aspect of my life. I suppose throughout the past few months I had let those teachings slip away, as I gave up on everything, including myself. In doing so, I knew I had let him down. But he was a fighter, and despite all the pressures from Rufus and his orders, he ended up doing the right thing in the end and helping me. He remained true to his own word, and never gave up on me.

I looked across the room to Elena, who sat on the opposite side of Tseng, in the same state as I was. She was staring at the injured man, her breathing shaky, and I knew she was struggling to suppress tears. I could see her woman-like character as she held onto his pale hand gently, watching him with an affectionate, painful gaze. We had all known for a long time that Elena had a huge crush on Tseng, and dismissed it was one of those schoolgirl-type infatuations, but I could see it clearly now. She loved him. She had stayed by his side the entire time, not daring to move out of the room, or even eat. I could tell she would just be sick if she were to eat anything, so I didn't pressure her to, and neither did Rude.

Rude had been in and out often, spending as much time with us as possible, but he had been called out by Heidigger several times. As usual, he was silent, but offered his shoulder for Elena to cry on, which was appreciated and often accepted. He always had been the best at masking emotions, even without his sunglasses. He had a poker face that had won him many gil in the past, but I suppose he needed it now more than ever. He kept his composure, but I knew him well. Between the chaos and stress concerning me, and now Tseng, and comforting Elena, he was emotionally drained. I think we all were, at that time, but he was about to break. I had told him to go home and get some rest about an hour ago, and with Elena all but pushing him out, he reluctantly did. Now, as I looked at the woman across the room, I knew she needed rest as well.

"Elena…" I said quietly, causing her to look up at me silently. "Go on." I told her, nodding my head towards the door. "Go get some sleep, eat, check on Rude, anything. Staying here any longer wont be good for you."

Elena swallowed slowly and shook her head. "I'm fine." She was lying. Her eyes were bloodshot and underlined with dark circles, her whole body was weak and shaking. She was so exhausted, it had lead her into a breakdown earlier, and the effects were still showing.

"No, you're not." I said sternly, standing up. My legs felt like pure rubber, but I managed to walk around Tseng's hospital bed and over to her. I dug in my pocket and knelt down beside her chair, and shoved a handful of gil into her hand. "Go to the hotel across the street and sleep." She shook her head, but I squeezed her hand gently. "Don't make me carry you over my shoulder." I threatened with a smile.

Elena sniffed lightly and looked away from me and at Tseng again. In the corner of her lips, I saw a soft smile. "Like you did when I was afraid to go into the Insect Museum?"

"You cracked one of my ribs, you threw such a fit." I mused lightly, recollecting the incident where the man we were sent to take out ran into the bug museum to hide. Elena would be damned if she went in there, so I had slung her over my shoulder and carried her in. She didn't appreciate that too much. "Now go on and sleep. I'll watch Tseng."

"But Reno," she protested quietly as I helped her to her feet. "You've been here just as long as I have." I started walking her towards the door.

"You need to rest more than I do, 'Lena." I pointed out as she stopped at the door. "Go." She looked at me with sadness heavy in her eyes, and I offered a reassuring smile. She pulled me into a long hug, her face buried in my shoulder.

"I missed you, Reno." she told me softly, still holding on. "Sorry for not telling you that earlier." I could hear the beginnings of tears in her voice.

"Missed you, too…" I replied, my voice quiet and shaking as well. "But don't worry, there are more important things going on than me being back." As Elena let go of me I offered another smile. "Now go. When you rest up, give Rude a call and make sure he's alright."

Reluctantly, Elena nodded and slowly walked out of the room and down the hall. By her pace and footing, I could see how drained she was, and how much she needed my prescribed rest. I sighed and turned around, but paused upon seeing Tseng's eyes watching me. They were weak, a little dull, but filled with a smile. Slowly, with a subtle wince, the injured man brought a hand to his face and shifted the oxygen mask down so it rested at this throat.

"You've been taking good care of them…" He coughed several times weakly, and I walked over to his bedside.

"Only doing what I knew you would do." I told him as I slipped the mask back over his face gently. He scowled, moving his head a little in discomfort. He was a very proud man, and I knew being so helpless was difficult for him to cope with. I smiled again, noting internally that I had been doing that a lot for others, despite the fact that I simply didn't want to. "How do you feel?"

"Like I got sliced from throat to stomach with a six foot blade." he replied, a light muse in his voice despite his pain. "And pissed off that I'm stuck here."

"Consider it a vacation." I offered, seeing his agitation easily. I then smirked, despite myself. "Lots of hot nurses around. Who knows, they might even give you a sponge bath."

Tseng chuckled lightly and shook his head. "How did we get along without you, Reno?"

I pulled the chair closer and sat down, wiping away some sweat that had collected on my forehead. My goggles had long been forgotten, hanging loosely around my neck since they just became irritating. I had found myself constantly running my hand through my hair, or feeling sweat on my forehead from the stress and warmth of the hospital, so I just took them off my head.

"I hope you know how sorry I am…" I said, lowering my eyes to my feel on the floor. "I didn't want to leave you guys at all, much less the way I did-"

"Reno," Tseng cut me off, turning his weak head to look at me. "I couldn't be more proud of you. Not only did you protect yourself, but you did your best to help us and our families. You helped save them while running for your own life. Then you saved my life knowing it was putting you in danger." he stopped to breathe for a moment, since simple speech was taking a toll on him physically. "I am the one who should apologise." The wutaiian man then looked away. "I betrayed you."

"But you stood up for me." I pointed out softly, watching him. "And you tried your best to help me several times. I can admit that I was angry at first, but now I'm not. You were only doing what you could, it's not like Rufus gave you an option."

"That's a horrible excuse for what I did." he retorted acidly. Rarely would one see remorse in Tseng in any way. He was the kind who withheld his pride no matter what, and even if he regretted something, he never let anyone know. Perhaps while in such a helpless state, after being so close to death itself, one tends to second guess their negative actions. I know it all too well, I went through the exact same thing.

"Tseng, that is not a 'horrible excuse'," I said quietly. "A horrible excuse is what I came up with when I stumbled into work at noon, hung over." As he looked at me, I forced yet another smile. "Don't beat yourself up over it. I forgive you, and I'm not going to hate you for it."

Tseng seemed to stare at me for a long time, dark eyes blinking slowly, and filled with a reflective light, like he was pondering something. Once again he moved the oxygen mask down to his throat. "What happened to you, Reno? You've matured so much…"

"Oh, believe me, if you say a dirty word and I'll still giggle." I replied, sharing a smile with him. "But I learned a lot when I was on the run, and found out that life is what you make of it. I could hate you guys, I could drink myself to sleep every night, I could hate every aspect of my past life, but someone taught me that there's nothing to gain from that. There's nothing to gain from feeling sorry for myself. It's hard, but I just have to go on fighting."

Tseng looked bewildered again. I too believed that I had matured more in the past month or so than I had in twenty-three years. Vincent Valentine had taught me so much in such a subtle way, that I only realised it now. Although the ex-Turk had done so much to help me, he made sure that most of my learning was from myself.

"Who the hell are you…" Tseng said slowly. "And what have you done with Reno?"

I chuckled lightly and shook my head. I then stood up and moved closer, placing the oxygen mask over his mouth again. He scowled at me a little, and I gave an apologetic look. "Sorry, I'm just worried about ya. Plus, Elena would kill me if I let you suffocate because you didn't like the air mask."

Tseng's face softened. "Is she okay? I only saw her leaving." His voice was quiet, barely audible from behind the air mask. I sighed and sat down again.

"She's pretty shaken up, I only just got her to go get some rest. She's been here since they brought you in, and I can't lie, she's really upset." I told him, my own voice also quiet. He seemed rather perturbed by that, so I gave him a reassuring look. "She'll be better once gets some time out of here for a while, and learns that you woke up."

Tseng nodded and relaxed again. He seemed worn out, which was understandable. He had lost a lot of blood, so he was weak, and the fact that he was awake and alert for such a long time was pretty exhausting. He looked at me, eyes half-closed. "And Rude?"

I sighed, running my hand through my hair again. "He's pretty stressed out, I convinced him to get some sleep, too." I explained with a light nod. "We're all just really worried about you."

Tseng sighed lightly as well, looking up at the bright white ceiling. "Reno, as tired and drain as you are, I have to ask that you don't leave this building." he said, voice taking on it's slightly stern tone that I am surprised that I actually grew to miss. I sat back in the chair, watching him.

"Don't want to be alone?" I asked.

"No, it's not that." He shook his head. "You'll be in danger the second you step outside. I can't let you walk into danger."

"Tseng, I have to leave sooner or later…"

"Reno, I mean it." Now he was definatly getting into that tone. Even if he was no longer my boss, that harsh, authoritative voice always made me tense up a little. However, I decided that putting up a fight wouldn't do him any good. Stressing him out wouldn't be fair.

"Okay, okay, I'll stay here." I said, internally knowing it was a lie. I didn't want to leave, but pretty soon I would have to. My stomach was aching with hunger, and I could barely stay awake. Tseng sighed again, closing his eyes. Pretty soon he was out again, sleeping peacefully. I found myself watching him, feeling that pattern again where I would feel an agonising wait between his breaths. I couldn't pity him, he wouldn't want that. I simply wished I could help him more.

Within twenty minutes, Rude walked into the room silently and placed a hand on my shoulder. This snapped me out of my trance and I looked up at my friend.

"How's he doing?" Rude asked, looking at Tseng, who was still sleeping.

"Better, I think. He woke up and talked to me for a bit. He's worried about you and 'Lena." I informed, following Rude's gaze. Tseng looked peaceful, but in a disturbing, death-like manner. I wanted to shake him violently and wake him up, but he needed rest. I did not know whether he was going to live or not, but I dared no jeopardise his life.

Rude nodded. "You should go rest, now." In his voice, I could sense he was still worried, and stressed out, but he seemed calm.

"I'm fine." I lied, but soon felt myself being pulled to my feel by my arms.

"Bull." Rude then all but snapped, his frustration suddenly showing through. I knew he was still sick of hearing me lie like that, saying I was alright when I wasn't, and rejecting help of any kind. "Go back to my place and sleep."

"But Rude-" I was cut off as I was pretty much dragged out of the room. "Damnit man, let go of me!" He simply looked at me and lowered his glasses, the same look staring me in the face as before. He wanted to be angry at me, but he couldn't.

"If you want to put up a fight, I'll knock you out before I shove you into the cab, alright?" I felt defeated, stuck between the wishes of an out-cold man and a conscious, frustrated one… who happened to be twice my size.

"Fine." I hissed, pulling out of his grasp. "But don't leave him alone for a minute."

We stood in silence for the better part of one uncomfortable minute before he put a hand on my shoulder, smiling. "I missed you, Reno." his voice was soft now, threatening to crack. I managed to smile back.

"After all the hell I put you through?"

"Hey, I babysat you every day in the office for three years, I'm used to it."

I laughed and lightly punched him in a playful manner. "You big oaf, I missed you, too."

Rude ruffled my hair, smiling again. "Now get going, I'll be calling to check on you."

Not wanting to get him upset all over again, I nodded and walked off. I slowly paced through the halls for a while, debating whether I should really go outside or not. After weighing my options and chances, I rode the elevator down to the main floor. I stepped outside and soaked in the scenery of Midgar in mid-afternoon. Not as refreshing as I had gotten used to in the past month or so, but it was nice to get out. I would welcome the scent of air pollution over the hospital any day. Blinking the bright sun out of my eyes, I stretched briefly and started on my walk away from the building, however, I was abruptly stopped with the coldest voice I had heard in months.

"Don't move."

As I felt the cold steel of a gun barrel against my temple, I could almost hear Tseng saying 'I told you so'.


	19. Panic

Here it is, another chapter! Sorry it's a couple days later than usual, we had a death in the family, so I couldn't really write. Hopefully this chapter is still okay, I've been less-than-motivated altely, but I was determined to update four you guys. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: All Characters belong to Square.

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I didn't so much as blink as several ShinRa Guards surrounded me, the first one still with his gun at my head. I felt three hands take a firm hold of my arms and shoulders, and a sudden sting in the back of my neck. Wincing as the painfully hot liquid was pumped into my bloodstream, I felt a violent wave of dizziness, and tried to stagger away. I attempted to use my magic to fend them off, but found that comfort of power fade, and reality hit me. The injection took away my powers. I was doomed.

"HELP!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, struggling despite my weakness. All of the guards overpowered me, but I managed to clench my fist and punch one across the face in my panic. This opened a window of opportunity, and I managed to run a couple feet.

A loud gunshot echoed in my ears for a second before I realised the white-hot pain stretching up my left leg. I loud out a pained scream, which was almost immediately cut short by a hit in the back of the head with the butt end of a gun. I was hauled into a waiting truck, and tossed onto the steel floor harshly. I rolled onto my side and pushed myself up a little, snarling savagely. One of the men was nursing a swelling jaw, with blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.  
"Shit, he's a fighter."  
"Yeah, definatly a Turk." another added, sounding almost a little nervous.

"EX-Turk!" I corrected angrily. "And next time I'll rip your head off."

"Next time I wont shoot you in the _foot_."

I knew I was helpless, and simply rolled onto my back as the doors slammed shut and the truck lurched forward. I wanted to melt into a sobbing mess on the floor, beg for my freedom, but I knew that wasn't an option. I blinked at the ceiling, holding back tears. Was Rude part of a set-up? Did Tseng know and try to save me? I did not know, I don't think I wanted to, but I knew one thing.

I was going back to the lab. And I was as good as dead.

Ignoring the horribly familiar pain in my foot was difficult, and it was a contributing factor towards my urge to shed tears, but somehow I managed to have a strong exterior. I closed my eyes and prayed, remembering Aeris' words telling me that I had to have faith. I still did not know what I had to have faith in. The Planet? Others? Luck? Myself? I didn't know, but I did know that I had faith in nothing now. It was snatched away so quickly after slowly getting it back.

After the long, excruciating ride to ShinRa HQ, I was pulled out of the van harshly. I struggled, despite only being able to use one foot, but of course it was useless. More guards were waiting for us and took hold of me, saluting my captors before they disappeared. My new escorts all but dragged me down the hall, kicking and screaming with every bit of strength I had left. Everything was one big blur, a melted mass of chaos and fear. I fought persistently, but that soon came to an end. I was bludgeoned in a similar manner as before, and slumped weakly.

"Please…" I pretty much whimpered, panic settling down into simple fear. "Don't take me to the lab!"  
"Some Turk." one of them growled before hitting me again to silence me.

"Ex-Turk." I growled back, resuming my hopeless struggle. If I had to correct them one more time I was sure to snap.

The doors to the lab opened and I was dragged in. I felt yet another wave of panic and heaved a kick at one of the guards, and despite my weakness and dizziness, I dug my heel into his ribs, causing him to double over in pain. A gun barrel pressed against my side, and I heard a hollow 'click'. I braced myself with tears, but a voice rang out that both saved me and destroyed me.

"Don't injure my specimen." Hojo's stern, proper growl made me feel sick. I whimpered and tried to struggle again. "Put him on the table."

I was hauled deep into the laboratory and all but tossed onto the cold table. I writhed around in attempts to escape, but like every other struggle I had previously offered, it was in vain. The guards strapped my legs and arms down before saluting to the professor and filing out wordlessly.

I felt tears squeeze out from my tightly shut eyelids. I silently prayed for help, from anyone. I felt like my body had given up, I could barely breathe. My heart, however, felt like it was crashing against my chest with every beat. I braved my eyes open and I looked around. Instruments lay around the room, and there was an unnerving glow of Mako everywhere I looked. I started to panic for the hundredth time that day, and forced my body to struggle against the bounds that held me. It only tired me out. I looked over and saw a white lab coat. I looked up at the scientist's face, and my eyes narrowed greatly. I growled a harsh curse at the man and started struggling again.

Hojo looked at me, no emotion on his face except for the glint of wonder and amusement in his eyes. He reached over and grabbed a syringe from the table beside mine, and the panic in me doubled. I kept swearing and started thrashing.

"You're a monster!" I hissed, wishing with every part of me that I could use my magic to give him the most painful death possible. Hojo, however, did not seem phased by my words and struggles.

"I hear you met good Mr. Valentine." he mused with no emotion in his voice. Without warning, he shoved the needle harshly, but carefully, under the skin of my exposed arm. I winced and suppressed another whimper. The needle was cold. "How is he fairing these days?"

"Bastard!" I shouted, my voice echoing off the distant, dark walls of the lab around us. I saw the beginnings of a smile on his face, but before I could be sure of that, he removed the syringe and turned away. Everything still seemed so distorted, and I wished that I could see clearly. However, I knew that he could see the hate in my eyes, and hear it in my voice, and that was all I really needed right now.

"You are going to rot in hell." I promised him, voice suddenly calm and fluid. "And you're going to suffer pain ten times worse than what you ever put any one of your 'precious specimens' through." I could have snarled and hissed my words, but I was dreadfully calm. Whether it was the drugs, or the unnerving power of raw hate, unclouded with petty emotions, I did not know. As another needle was less than gently jabbed into me, I winced and exhaled sharply, turning my head a little. "But… you know what will be the best thing about that?" I asked, pain subsiding and seeming almost trivial to me now. In the midst of the depth of my vows, and perhaps my slow descend into madness, I chuckled. It was dark, like the venom laugh Vincent had emitted while speaking of his own hatred for Hojo. "You will know that you deserve so much worse than that, and it will torture you, every minute…" another inoculation was pumped into my arm, which this time hardly phased me. "of every day…" I smirked at him, with my old smug smile that I had seemed to have lost months ago. In the midst if panic, fear, and emotion, I had come back. I may have been the one restrained and being drugged like a lab rat, but I was a cocky little son of a bitch about it all over again. I had a feeling that the rest of my days would be spent here, laying helpless and in unbearable pain. But why was I acting like this? Was I really mad? Had I come to terms with it? Did something tell me it wasn't true? No, it was much more simple than those things. As I curled my lips a little, smirk still pulling at their corners, I felt a wave of confidence wash through me.

I was Reno, and it was about time I remembered that.

"For all of eternity."


	20. Why?

Once again, I offer you all my sincere apologies! Between catching up on schoolwork and being busy with family issues, I've been slacking on my fanfictions. People are telling me that I need to update this, so apparently I've taken a long enough vacation!

Wow, chapter twenty of WCDYB... I never thought this story would get so insane. In all honestly, I saw it being seven... maybe ten chapters at the most. But the increadable feedback I've recieved only motivated me to write deeper and deeper into the story, and add plot twists thatI would have never had dared without the confidence all you readers and reviewers have given me. Thank you all very much, I cannot begin to describe the true gratitude I have.

Anywhoo, I'm sure you didn't come here to listen to me babble, gush and suck-up to you guys XD On with the story!

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Square.

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Every one of my muscles seemed to constrict and pull tight as I let out painful dry gagging, knelt in front of the cold steel toilet. I gripped the sides of the seat with shaking and white fingers, trying to steady myself as the room around me melted and swirled around in a dizzying, nauseating manner. How long had I been here, in this position, wishing that my body could realise that I no longer had anything in my stomach to regurgitate? Gasping for air, I managed to breathe shakily, each exhale accompanied with a light whimper.

How long had I been in this godforsaken laboratory? Days? Weeks? Hell, even a couple of months? Time died away into a factor of the past, and I seldom knew if it was day or night. The only person I had seen since my capture was Hojo himself, and a few lab hands every once in a while if I were to offer a fight in my defence. Of course, I was always silenced with an injection that left me weak and unable to use the powers implanted in my body. Between experiments, I was thrown into this cell that they had made especially for me.

I feel fucking special.

It was similar to a prison cell, only furnished with a single bed, a cheap steel toilet, and a small sink that looked more like a beaten-up water fountain. Instead of bars, the front wall of the cell was a double set of strong glass, which I found from many attempt to smash through it, was the type that was virtually unbreakable. I seldom used the bed on the corner, and simply lay on the cold floor for long periods of time. All food they had given to me was thrown up almost faster than I could consume it. As I spent my long waits for the next time to be set on the table, I would stare at the dark ceiling blankly, and figure that this is hell. This was that horrible place that you were sent to when you did bad things, that my mother had warned me about when I was a child. I had done horrible things. Now I was in hell.

"Oh, mom, if you could see me now." I said out loud, a light chuckle daring to dance in my weak voice. My painful gagging had ceased for a while, so I took the opportunity to lay back on the floor. What would my mother say if she were to see her son a lab rat? Well, she probably still had even more chemicals in her system than I did, so I doubted that expecting a real reaction would be hoping for too much. Part of me wished that I could see her before I died, but every other piece of me said that the idea was insane. Would she even recognise her son? Not only was I thin and sunken-faced as all hell, my speech, my outlook, my mind, my entire self had changed. Considering I slept through most of Philosophy class in high school, I was beginning to understand it now more than ever. I found that I was asking myself what I was doing here, who I was and who I had become, and ultimately, 'Why?'.

The answers I came up with were just as general and vague as my question. It was a lot like my essay question on that class' exam. In order to catch about half an hour's sleep, I simply wrote 'Why not?'.

Why not? That was a better question. Why not use a Turk for experiments, cripple every aspect of his life and leave him helpless? Why not create a conspiracy around it? Why not pit his friends against him?

"For fuck's sake…" I whimpered, rolling onto my side and letting a shiver roll down my spine. I told myself to stop thinking, and to just sleep.

I must have, because I felt myself dip in and out of thought slowly, my own soft breathing and pulse for once calm and quiet. Consciousness seemed to fade away and return once in a while, as I basked in the bliss of sleep. Sleep was the only time I could escape this, my own fearful thoughts.

Despite all of this, I felt like I held on to one last shred of dignity. I suffered, but suffered knowing that Hojo will one day, too. I knew that this was due to my own actions, my choices. I chose to stay with Tseng, I chose to return to Midgar, and I chose to keep living with my thoughts clear of suicide. I would not dare give up after living through this much. Vincent's lesson had taught me a lot, possibly more than he knew.

"I'm hurting and lost now…" I recited it quietly in a moment of consciousness, voice barely a whisper. "But that only means I had to know happiness beforehand." I felt a weak smile pull at my lips. "Vincent, you old creep…" I said light-heartedly, as if I was really talking to the dark man. I rolled over onto my other side. My emotions could go from cold, bitter, and resentful, to healthy and warm within minutes. Memories seemed to be my comfort, alongside sleep.

Suddenly, my heartbeat and breathing were no longer the only sounds I heard, as the sound and feel of quick footsteps came to me easily, with my head on the floor. After much procrastinating, I looked over to see a pair of heavily polished shoes at my eye level, as someone slowed to a stop on front of the glass. I looked up without much care, to see a familiar face. Emotions on the newcomer were hidden behind dark lenses, but the mix of pain and happiness was still blatantly obvious.

"Reno!" my friend hissed with a tint of joy, setting his hands on the glass. His voice was blocked out a bit by the glass, but I could hear him fine. He looked overwhelmed with emotion upon seeing me, but I felt numb.

It was actually an overdose of emotion which felt me unfeeling. I felt happiness, resentment, relief, fear, adrenaline, exhaustion. I wanted to smile, and I wanted to cry. I blinked slowly, my dull eyes staring up at the other man.

"Why are you here?" I asked in monotone, letting loose none of the piled-up emotions inside me. Rude looked hurt, and guilt added onto my list.

"We're breaking you out of here, what do you think?" he asked, beginning to look over the punch-code lock. It was safe to assume that he and the others were going to make an attempt to get me out of the lab. Sounded more like bullshit to me. I simply rolled onto my other side, so I was facing away from him.

"What, so you just set me up and get me hauled back again?" I retorted, voice remaining dull although I wanted to snarl.

"You know I would never do that!" This time, he even sounded hurt.

"You're full of shit."

"Reno!" He was about to cry. Rude, the amazing mask-man, with no visible emotion, who could become a millionaire playing poker, was about to cry. I drew in a shaky breath and rolled weakly onto my back, looking through the glass at him. I had never seen him so distraught in the entire amount of time I knew him. I was emotionless, he simply turned his head away in attempts to hide the fact he was wiping moisture that spilled from his eyes.

Hesitantly, I got up. Having to resort to half-crawling, I moved closer to the glass. I sat down and leaned against the clear wall, so my back was facing him. I heard him sit down as well, his back against the glass as well. I could tell that he had not slept in days, he was exhausted. I would have figured he would be able to sleep well without having to baby-sit me like before. Rude and I were silent for a long time, sitting back-to-back, a layer of glass and a bitter border created by lies and deceit standing between two friends who were once inseparable. We had been partners in this job, we had been so close we could do more than finish each other's sentences. We used to be able to figure out what the other man was thinking by just exchanging glances. We could drink ourselves stupid and laugh off the hangovers, we could run into danger knowing we had each other's backs, we could talk about things we wouldn't tell a shrink.

What were we now?

"Do you think…" Rude's quiet voice was the one that broke the silence. "for one moment that I would wish this on you? Damnit, Reno, you're like my brother." The tears were audible in his voice, and emotion seeped through the cracks of my own mask as some stung my own eyes as well.

"Why else would you have put up with so much of my emo crap, huh?" I responded, leaning my head back so it rest against the cold glass.

"All I wanted was to help you through it. We all wanted that."

"And look where we are." I replied, once again in monotone. I thought I might as well take the chance to ask some questions that had been bothering me. "Rude… is Tseng okay?"

"He's fine." My old friend responded quietly. "Almost fully recovered."

"Any news on Avalanche?" Rude was quiet for a long time, and I turned my head a bit to look at him through the glass. "Rude?"

"The ancient…"

"Aeris?"

"She's dead."

I stood stock still for what seemed like hours, my only eventual being my muscles contracting as more painful, emotion-sparked gagging threatened me. I stayed where I was, once again feeling tears ride up and spill down. "…who?" I managed to choke, bringing a cold, shaking hand up to bury my face in it. Who would kill a person like her? So innocent and caring, so nurturing and sweet.

"Sephiroth." Rude's reply was half the volume as before. I let out a whimper and let my fingers rake through my hair and tug at it until it was too painful to bear.

"You're lying."

"I wish I was, Reno." I heard Rude get to his feet behind me and move over on unsteady feet to the keypad again. After a moment and a few beeps of the pad, one half of the glass slid open, and I had to support myself. I turned my head and looked up at Rude, who had already extended a hand out to me to help me up. "Let's go, we only have so much time."

I stared at his hand for a long time before looking up at him again. There was wetness on his cheeks, and it hurt more than anything that Hojo had ever put me through. Slowly taking his offered hand and letting him gently pull me up, I re-gained the feeling of standing on my own two feet. However, I looked at him sceptically.

"You've lied to me before." I growled, stepping back a little. Thankfully, I avoided a stumble.

"Reno, all the time we've been friends, I swore that I would die for you. Now seems like a good time to call me on that." His voice was confident and honest, but lined with hurt.

"Why should I trust you? Hell, why should I leave?" I asked quietly.

With one fluid movement, my old friend lowered his sunglasses and looked at me with blue eyes, filled with emotion. I knew by the look in those intense, but at the same time ever so weakened eyes, that I had my friend back. It was Reno and Rude once more, and we were going off to do something incredibly stupid again. This time, he was the man to start the chaos that was soon to follow. He dared a light smile, voicing the words that came to our minds at the exact same time.

"Why not?"


	21. Escape

I LIVE! -falls over- Real life sucks, y'know that? I took an unplanned vacation from my fanfics, but I'm back. For real this time. I come bearing a new WCDYB chapter as an apology gift. What makes up for all? Abusing Reno, naturally!

Oh, and I saw Advent Children in English. Long review short -It'sgood, butstick to Japanese, it saves you the horrors of Cid with a southern drawl. I wishIwas kidding. They ruined a lot of voices, but Cid was the worst.

Anywhoo, on with the story! (and thanks for he reviews, as always!) Anjoy!

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The first few steps were shaky, unsure, the next few were frantic, rushed, and the rest felt like a mix of agony and euphoria. I was hurting all over, but the mere thought of walking to freedom made me shiver with joy. With Rude's assistance, I rushed with him out of the lab. Despite my relief and happiness of leaving at last, questions spouted from me almost immediately.

"Where's Hojo?" I asked, glancing around us in a nervous manner, and almost loosing my footing. Even as I stumbled, I continued. "What about the security? Where could we possibly go?"

"Reno…" Rude said in a quiet, calming tone as he helped me regain my balance. "Let's just focus on getting you out of here, alright?"

I held on to my friend's blazer for a moment, letting out a stressful, but appreciative sob. A strong hand ruffled my hair lightly. "You're gonna be okay."

I looked at Rude, fighting the urge to have a full breakdown right there. The mix of joy and fear was deadly, as my heart was going faster than ever. Rude just gave a light, reassuring smile before gently tugging me along out of the lab.

As I finally saw the bright hallway outside of the laboratory, I squinted my eyes against the lights and looked down the hallway. Elena was speeding towards us, running faster than I had ever seen her move before.

"Reno!" she exclaimed in a soft, hushed manner before halting and pulling me into a gentle embrace. This time she sobbed several times, mumbling into my blazer about how glad she was to see that I was alright. She pulled back to look at me, her joy melting into a frown. "You've gotten so thin…"

I looked down at myself. Pulling the tattered remains of my shirt tight around my middle revealed the weight lost in the past God-knows-how-long. I was skinny as anything, and the outline of my ribs was almost visible even under the fabric. I felt a hand on my face, and I looked to Elena.

"You look so ill, Reno." She informed me. I guessed that I would be walking out looking like hell, but Elena looked very upset by it. I forced a smile as Rude urged us to move down the hallway quickly.

"If I had known you were gonna show up, I would have prettied up a bit."

Elena just latched on to me for another second or two, again telling me that she was glad to see me and that she missed me.

We rushed out of the ShinRa building, and I was shocked to see that there were no guards, no security, and no reaction to my escape what so ever. We went out side doors to the building, without incident.

"What the hell happened?" I asked as they helped me down the dark alley. "There's nobody in there!"

Rude and Elena exchanged glances, silent for a moment.

"…Guys?"

"The company has gone downhill." Rude explained, continuing to rush our small group out of the alleyway. "People have been fighting back, and the whole corporation is dwindling. A couple of the executives are dead." He said in a quiet tone.

I whirled around, and my friends had to steady me as that made me loose my balance. I looked up at Rude with deep concern. Panic swelled up in me.

"Reeve-"

"He's alright." Elena told me, sparking a sigh of relief on my part. They helped me out of the alley, and towards a dark van parked near the building. I saw Tseng waiting outside of it and hurried my pace. Forgetting all formality, I almost tackled my former boss in joy of seeing him alright. I almost gave in to tears again, but thankfully I did not.

"Tseng!" I exclaimed as they pried me off of him. The dark-haired man smiled warmly before stepping closer to me and getting a look of deadly seriousness. I paled and tried to step back, saying his name again in a bit more of a nervous tone.

In a cheap move that would remind one of what an older sibling would use, Tseng grabbed two fingers on my right hand and twisted sharply, forcing me to yelp and my body to twist a bit as well. Any more pressure and he could have easily broken them.

"Sir!" Elena and Rude sounded and looked appalled, but he ignored them. Intense eyes stared into mine, piercing and threatening.

"What did I tell you NOT to do?" he demanded, voice in a low growl that made my insides go cold. I tried to struggle free, but it was no use. I tried to reason with him to let go, but he only asked the question again, in a more frightening tone.

"Leave…" I paused with a wince from another failed attempt to free my fingers. "the hospital."

Tseng's grip tightened and I let out a whimper. "And what did you do?"

I tore my gaze away from the fiery, almost enraged eyes of Tseng and looked to the ground. Sounding like a child caught drawing on the walls, I mumbled my response. "I left the hospital."

My fingers were released and I nursed them with my other hand while cursing softly. Tseng always kept a tight lid on his temper, and I had learned long ago to not push my luck with him. But when the wutaiian man lost it, he really lost it. Perhaps that was what made him a good leader, he knew how to intimidate calmly, and fight fiercely. I looked up at him again, but was both relieved and shocked to see a light smile. I dared to mirror him as the corners of my lips pulled lightly.

"You gonna ask what I learned from this?"

Tseng set a hand on my shoulder, and I flinched a little, half expecting him to smack me upside the head in a brotherly fashion.

"Don't think I'm done giving you hell yet." He told me, although there was lightness in his voice. How many times had I heard _that_ before?

I was about to respond, but our attention was distracted by a flash of light and a deafening sound. It was an explosion, followed by loud sirens or alarms. We looked up to see the top of the ShinRa tower engulfed in flames and crumbling. We all seemed to loose the colour in our faces, and Tseng half staggered a bit in the direction of the destruction.

"The president!" he exclaimed staring up at the top of the building in horror. Debris began falling down to the streets, crashing down all around us with a force similar to that of meteors. Rude pulled Tseng by his blazer out of the way right before he would have been hit by a mass of bricks and broken glass. The vehicle had already been hit by several pieces of fallen building, leaving it broken and useless within seconds. Looking around in a frenzy, we all exchanged frantic glances before Elena found a sewer grate. She pointed it out and we rushed over, lifting it and falling down into the safety of the sewers. Tseng had suffered a small cut on his face, and Elena had been hit on the shoulder by a small falling piece of brick or cement, but we were otherwise lucky in our narrow escape.

Tseng leaned against the cold cement wall in the dark tunnel, oblivious to the fact that we were all ankle-deep in water and god knows else what. He ran a hand through his hair, staring into nothingness for the longest time.

"The president…" he said again, except his voice was so quiet it was barely audible. "The company. Everything. It's gone." His breathing was heavy and shaky, like he had ran a marathon or something of that sort.

Elena helped our leader straighten up. "Sir, what was that?"

"Weapon." We all turned to Rude, who was staring up at the faint light seeping through the sewer grate. "It fired at Midgar."

The tone of dread in his voice made me more sick than the actual response. "Weapon?"

This time everyone looked in my direction. "You missed a lot Reno…" Elena informed me, bowing her head a little.

"Sephiroth summoned a Meteor, and the Planet released the Weapons to fight back."

It seemed to hit me like a brick wall. I almost threw up again, but I simply just doubled over with gagging. I wanted to Rude was at my side immediately.

"We're doomed." I coughed, looking up at my friends. "We're fucking done for." All optimism on my part had been erased months ago, so the looks I received had no effect on me. It was true, and we all knew it.

We all paused and looked down the tunnel as we heard voices – familiar ones. I straightened up, knowing the voices better than I thought.

"Who's down there?" A sharp voice echoed off the walls. Despite the current panic, shock, and frustration, I smiled lightly and began half running and half stumbling through the shallow water.

"Reno!" my friends chased after me, calling after me to come back. But I failed to hear them, I was too overjoyed with hearing the familiar voices.

It was not until I was face-to-face with Avalanche that I realised what was happening. Everyone stopped dead. Turks facing Avalanche. There was a long silence, save for the sounds of moving water at our feet. I felt overwhelmed with joy and guilt at the same time. This was not bound to turn out well. Cloud Strife gave me a suspicious look, and I took a nervous step back. I knew that being seen with my former co-workers was a bad thing, but my tattered clothes and sunken appearance must be a bit of a giveaway of the truth. I slumped my shoulders and looked at Vincent, the only member of the group who was not staring at me in a negative manner.

"Aeris…" I said in a low voice. "Did she really…"

"Yes." Vincent told me before I could finish the question. Once again my stomach and chest contracted painfully, and I winced. I cursed Sephiroth's name several times before I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up at Vincent, tears streaming down my sunken cheeks.

"You're sickly thin." He said, staring at me with a mix of compassion and anger. "Hojo did this to you." His face turned dark and he turned to the others, and they all nodded. He then looked to the rest of the Turks and they nodded as well. It was like a universal understanding, much like the one me and my three co-workers shared. Cloud lowered his sword and got an almost angry look. Tifa looked at the blonde, almost afraid.

"…Cloud?"

"Let's go get the fucking bastard."


	22. Confrontation

AHA! You all thought I was dead! Nope! I've read every review, and I may not have answered every single one (I tried, though), but I appreciate them endlessly. Thank you all SO much. :3

So, what does sylver have to make up for like... a YEAR absence?

An extra huge WCDYB, of course! After so long, I tried to get back into the swing of things. I read through the whole story tonight, and decided to finish it. You guys read it all, gave such nice reviews, you deserve at least that! I'm not sure if I'm coming back for SURE, but I'm giving it a shot. This was written very late at night, so I'm not sure if it's what you expect.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Square Enix.

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No words, no matter how large a person's vocabulary might be, could describe the feeling of entering that building again. Or, better said, what was left of it. The group of us entered through the main doors, past whatever few minor office employees that were rushing out. A few steps in, and I almost buckled to the floor. Rude, who seemingly expected this, caught me immediately. I could recognise everything in that lobby as it was when I was a proud Turk; a top dog at the company. Not only that, but I seemed to realise where we were going; back to the lab. As I was steadied on my feet, they felt glued to the floor. Like a scared animal, I had frozen. All of the others looked at me, and I barely heard a few of them urging me on. I mumbled something, but not even I could make sense of it.

I couldn't do it. The utter helplessness, anger, hate, and fear told me that I couldn't. My eyes might have said it, because Vincent seemed to read it in me. The caped man wasted no time in fixing this little interruption.

"Reno!" he suddenly snapped, stepping in front of me. His outburst shocked us all. I could have sworn Tseng himself jumped a little. It was just so stern and sharp. "Is THIS cowardice what Turks are being trained these days?" I could see my ex-coworkers were offended by that, as was I. Yet, my weak shields had left me standing straight, and in some manner at attention.

"No." My statement was firm, but simple and hiding much intimidation. I knew Vincent was not afraid to practise 'tough love' (so to speak) on people. It was hard to forget him tossing me over the handrail of the Highwind that day. "I'm not a Turk anymore. Don't—"

"If you are an Ex-Turk, then act like one!" Vincent cut me off with that tone again. If I was in any other state of mind, I might have mused on the idea of Tseng and Vincent in a yelling match. "You are stronger than this, Reno. And you are not alone this time. Now, start moving!"

Perhaps I was too stunned to argue, but I did. My feet freed themselves from their invisible binds, and I started walking. As did everyone else, possibly because of pure intimidation concerning the dark man. I only caught a glimpse of their faces, but everyone was shocked. Especially Cid, whose unlit cigarette fell from his mouth as his jaw fell slack for a moment. We went from walking to running very soon, finding the halls seemingly unscathed from the explosion. Perhaps only the top floors were hit, and the rest was faintly damaged with debris.

As I ran with them, I could only consider how long it had been since I left Avalanche. The obvious clues could be seen in Tseng's healed wounds (although he still did not look in the best condition) and my own healed foot. It had been treated, but it took a while to get back to normal. Perhaps adrenaline was forcing me to run, but the injury inflicted on me on the day of my capture outside the hospital could not have been ignored if it was still a problem. I saw other signs of the time span, however. Avalanche seemed like a family that had been broken and brought back together. Much like us Turks. Cloud had a different air about him that I could not describe. Yuffie seemed more mature, in some strange way. And Cid, although I would bet my life he still had a foul mouth, seemed a little more reserved. Only a little.

I could only imagine the things they went through while I was curled up in that cell or strapped to that table. Aeris... I wished she was there. This was no time for compassion or gentleness, but some moral support or protection from Vincent would be nice (I refused to deny that he would have kicked my ass if I had not moved).

As us Turks lead the way to the lab, all of us picked up even more speed as we neared it. We burst through the doors, and I was surprised at my own willingness to cross the threshold. But, again, I felt a crippling numbness hit me as I stepped in. However, shouts in a familiar voice shook me free. This time the words were not spoken harshly, or coming from Vincent. Reeve could be heard, seemingly across the lab and in another section. Cait Sith sped ahead, and we all soon followed. Reeve? Why would he still be in here?

"Stop, Hojo! This is madness!" We heard Reeve again just before reaching the next part of the lab; a part I had not seen in what felt like forever. A strange, gargantuan control panel stood there, at which Hojo was working furiously. Reeve, at the bottom of a set of metal stairs leading up to the eyesore of a machine, was yelling up at him. The executive seemed desperate, although we could only see his back.

"Reeve! Get away!" Tseng shouted. He was ignored, as our friend started to climb up the steps towards the scientist. Reeve was a peaceful man, but not a soul could honestly claim he wasn't brave. Tseng shouted after him again, and Hojo seemed to find the time to look up from his work. Reeve attempted to tackle him away from the controls. Something was more chilling than normal. What was Hojo doing? I shook my head suddenly and wildly. We couldn't watch this, as the two men wrestled. Vincent's words had yet to leave my tattered mind. Before I knew it a handful of us, I could not figure out who or how many, ran towards the scene. The familiar sensation overwhelmed me, of heat and dizziness, and the mad professor screeched as many volts of electricity coursed through him.

At the same time, he managed to throw Reeve, who had been surprised by this, off. The executive fell down the steps, but Tifa and Rude caught him before he made impact with metal or the ground. Almost the entire group was on Hojo then. Fuelled with rage and hatred, we all struck. This time Hojo was prepared, and a strange, unseen force pushed us back sharply. I stumbled back before tilting my weight to fall on one knee rather than on my back. My right hand tightened instinctively as I stood; I wanted my EMR.

Everyone collected themselves, and we faced Hojo, who seemed unwilling to leave his post. He snarled at us, and something about him made me more uneasy than usual.

"Don't you dare place yourselves between me and my son. He needs my help, and none of you will interfere!" His voice was... inhuman. I struggled to understand before I heard Vincent to my right.

"Sephiroth...!"

Now Hojo's interest seemed to be grabbed, as if he had just noticed Vincent. "Mister Valentine!" Despite the new strangeness to his voice, Hojo seemed pleased. Conversational. He turned to us fully, cruel eyes on his former Lab Rat as he smiled and brought his hands together. "It has been too long. Yes, you remember Sephiroth, don't you? Your Lucrecia and I's little experiment."

I tore my eyes from Hojo to look at Vincent. All of Avalanche was watching him as well, but not with shock. It was in quiet concern. His eyes did not only glow; they went wild. That growl of his arose, and his temper flared in the most silent and frightening of ways. His gun was pointed towards the scientist and fired without a second's notice. I understood this action; it was all Vincent had to say. The gunshot could sum up all of those painful years he had suffered, all of the hate in his soul. The bullet struck its target in the stomach; apparently Vincent wanted him to die slowly.

A gasp, and a series of coughs and gags escaped Hojo, and for a moment I thought it was all over. But I should have learned by then that things are never so simple. The coughing melted into laughing, a strange cackle that made Rufus' cruel laughter seem like a warm chuckle. Every hair on the back of my neck stood on end.

"My son needs energy. Something only the cannon can give him! I am not so easily strayed from my duties, Valentine." He growled back at Vincent, but there was a smile on the scientist's face. I could not help but gasp at the growing blood spot on his white labcoat. The blood was black, much like my own. It was then that Tseng turned to Reeve, who seemed reluctant to leave, and barked at him to go. The poor man seemed determined to do something to help, despite having no weapon of his own.

"But—"

"GO, Reeve. Make sure any survivors are out of the building!"

I only barely heard this, as I was horrified by the blood on Hojo. The bleeding also seemed to cease, and he appeared unharmed. This was even more frightening. Seeming to catch my expression, Hojo laughed again.

"The results of my experiments always go to good use." This was said before a crackle of electricity sounded, and Cid suddenly let out a pained curse and crumpled to the ground. Not only were Hojo's eyes filled with twisted amusement, they were glowing. As others went to help him, RedXIII and I struck Hojo with magic while the rest ran in for an attack. It seemed the offense from afar worked, but everyone else was struck away suddenly. Hojo's arms had suddenly stretched into strange, shapeless things that could only be compared to tentacles. They glowed green like mako, but otherwise seemed to match his skin tone, quite nauseatingly. He slowly stepped down the small set of stairs as everyone collected themselves. He was calm, but that made it even more frightening. Out of fear, I must have tried to freeze his morbid new limbs, as I lost my thoughts for a moment. It must have been shaken off, because he laughed and extended one of the 'arms' towards me at a shocking speed. Apparently, they could stretch. I panicked and stumbled back, but two gunshots rang out. Black blood sprayed about for only a moment before Hojo hissed and reached for Vincent. It was now time for Avalanche and the Turks to really work together.

Tseng and Elena both fired their handguns towards the mutant's chest, and as Hojo needed a second to recover, I struck with fire that burned at his morphed skin. Then Cid, who had bounced back from his electric assault, lunged and stabbed into the side with his spear while Hojo was distracted. This continued for a long time, everyone managing to get their attacks in, but at the same time our enemy refused to go down, and was able to lash back at us. I was already so tired before this began, how I refrained from collapsing must have been a miracle. It felt like forever that we fought him. Us Turks were used to quick battles. Capture, interrogate, kill, forget. That's how it always went... This was something beyond the pattern I had grown to count on. This time, I had been the victim of kidnapping. There were no questions to be asked. Yes, we would kill him, but not a single person who lived through this was bound to forget it.

In the midst of the hectic battle, I put a strip of fire between us and Hojo once he got too close for comfort. But I found myself swept up by one of those twisted, mutated arms while I was trying to concentrate. I was not thrown, but pulled to his side of the flames. The fire licked up at me like the tongues of famished snakes before I was thrown to the hot ground and held there, the appendage forming around my neck and squeezing. Between the heat and the pressure on my windpipe, I could hardly breathe. I grasped at his 'hand' desperately. It was all a blur, but so devastatingly real. The others tried to come to my aid, but Hojo used his own apparent unnatural abilities to raise the flames too high for them to pass. He looked down at me with a cold, but smug look. My squirming and gasping seemed to amuse him greatly. The damned bastard.

"Number 00937593." He hissed these words slowly, only loud enough for me to hear. "Quite possibly one of my most successful experiments yet. Certainly a helpful one." My vision was fading, the world was darkening, but a sudden small jolt of electricity seemed to snap me back. In my confusion, panic, and anger, I knew what he was doing. He wanted me alive and awake.

"Bas...bastard!" I choked after much effort. Hot tears were streaming down my face. I could barely hear the shouts of those on the other side of the wall of flames, but it was just us, now. Hojo and his Lab Rat. If I had been in the state I was in before I was helped by Avalanche, I might have given up. I would have seen no point. I would have accepted that I was a number. A rat. A sinner who deserved this. Torture, flames, tears, panic... this was hell. Not a little cell, no, it was this. I wondered if James Naroll would show his face anytime soon. No, he was not in hell. Hell was where bad people went. He wouldn't be here.

Damn. I wanted to apologize.

"I gave you purpose Reno." Hojo then said, keeping me awake with another jolt. "I made you and Valentine more than ShinRa's dogs. I made you pieces of scientific achievement. I made you worth more than what you ever were in your blue suits." His tone was light, and tinted with a thin chuckle. "You're welcome."

I knew then that I was screaming, but I heard one that was not my own. It was Vincent without question, but there was something horribly wrong with him. His screams chilled me for a moment despite the intense heat of the fire. As if everything could not get any worse. I knew then that if anything was going to happen, I had to do it. I had to do it myself. But it was so hot. My body ached. My lungs screamed more than I did. The world; Hojo, the flames, the ceiling illuminated by the orange fire, it was all spinning. He was squeezing tighter. I was dying. I shut my eyes tightly, and I must have screamed again, but I felt the strongest wave of power that had ever washed over me. It consumed me, and Hojo's curse and a sudden lack of heat told me that I had acted.

I was released as he staggered back with a screech, I remember gasping for several seconds, and many people came to my aid. I must have passed out, or at least hallucinated, but as I snapped my eyes open to see Hojo, a terrifying roar was heard and some crazed... beast was attacking him. It was purple and winged, with claws unlike anything I had ever seen. I coughed and gasped as someone held me to sit up, but although I had no idea what was going on, nobody was looking at me. We were all watching the horrid scene before us. The monster, a demonic creature, delivered several strikes and a blow that without a doubt killed the scientist. As his throat was grasped in sharp claws and ripped away, and his ribcage crushed under strong feet, we knew that it was actually over. The blood-chilling scream of Hojo and the sickening crack of his bones was nothing but the final words of the most terrifying horror story ever created.

Everything seemed dead silent. It was a moment that simply dangled. Slow motion. Fast forward. I wasn't sure how it went. But it dangled. Then, the monster that had put an end to it all fell to the floor, its wings wrapping around its body and turning dark red. Yuffie staggered to her feet and moved towards it, but Cloud stopped her. All we did was watch for the longest time. But braving one glance at those around me, I came to a realization that hit me like a bullet to the head; Vincent was not with us. The wings became more clearly red in colour, and the entire form writhed and changed shape. It took my mind a few seconds to settle, but the right recollection came to me.

_"He made me a demon's host."_

I tried to get to my feet, but I was too weak. I shamelessly crawled towards my friend, calling his name desperately. I slipped through the ones grabbing to hold me back, but I made it to him. I watched as the wings became that familiar red cloak, and Vincent came back to us. But, he was still a heap on the ground. I got the others to help haul him away from Hojo's mangled body. We lay Vincent on his back on the unscorched floor, and he woke up after a few minutes. His eyes shut tighter for a moment before opening halfway. His breathing was calm and even, which was a relief. He did not look at us, he turned his head to look at Hojo, the pitiful corpse on the ground. He stared at it for the longest time. He said nothing.

"Vince...?" Cid finally broke the silence. It was strange to hear the gruff pilot speak in a concerned manner. Vincent silently stood with an effort I knew he tried his hardest to hide, and looked at Hojo again.

"We should get out of here." Cloud said quietly. Everyone agreed, and we got ourselves together. Rude helped me walk as I was still weak, while Tifa and RedXIII carefully and gently guided the stunned Vincent away. Everyone else seemed fine to walk, despite being battered and bleeding in some way. There was nothing but the sound of footsteps as we walked out; no one had a word to say. We stepped outside and it seemed to hit me. It was over. Hojo was dead. ShinRa was done. I was dazed suddenly as well, and Rude had to support me even more. They finally sat me on the pavement as we stopped by the sidewalk. By now, people had gathered on the streets to see what the explosion was about earlier. Fire trucks and ambulances were scattered around. People only seemed to be focusing on the top floors; not where the battle of my life had just taken place.

As we had stopped, Reeve found us. He had done what he could to help the emergency crews, apparently. Obviously, he was concerned about us and had a rapid fire of questions for us. Seeing something like what he had was bound to spark some curiosity. As he was told we were all alright, more or less, he looked around us and pointed.

"What about that guy?"

We followed his guiding point to see Vincent walking off toward the entrance to an alley. A few of us walked after him (I staggered, myself) to see if he was okay. Before he could say a word, the tall man leaned against a brick wall, tugged the top of his cloak away from his face, and was sick to his stomach on the pavement. Tifa, seemingly just as caring as Aeris or Elena, quietly soothed him and pulled his long hair back out of his face. Cid had his hand on his friend's shoulder in silent reassurance. I could only watch, stunned. Calm, collected Vincent losing his last meal like this? I felt quite sick myself, but maybe my stomach had finally given me a break. Maybe I was too stunned.

"Vincent..." I could only choke, at a loss for words. "Y-you okay?" While he could not reply, coughing and trying to catch his breath, Cid turned his head to look at me. The concern and understanding in his eyes caught me a little off guard.

"It's been building on Vince for years, what Hojo did." The pilot told me. "After a fight like that, he's lost his nerve. Can't blame him."

"No, y'can't..." As I muttered this quiet agreement Cid and I looked back at Vincent, who was leaning his head against the cool bricks and allowing Tifa to comfort him.

"He's only human, after all."


End file.
